Wallabies coach says it must be “weird” for England players to see Aussie NRL coach Ricky Stuart in camp this week.
Stuart, who coached the Raiders to a grand final berth in the NRL this season, was invited into the England camp by long-time friend Eddie Jones for the quarter-final week, well before it was known that their opponents would be the Wallabies.
The Canberra mentor is spending time learning off Jones and seeing the way their team goes about their work.
Seeing an Aussie around in camp is pretty familiar for the English - Jones and attack coach Scott Wisemantel are Australian and they have had a host of Aussies in and out of their setup in recent years.
Cheika said it might be a little bit strange this week, though, given the stakes of Saturday’s match.
“Obviously they would be mates I imagine, so it’s all good,” he said.
“It’d be like… I’m friends with (England football coach) Gareth Southgate, I don’t know if I’d be wanting him in here the week that we’re playing England.
“It must be weird for the players having an Aussie because Ricky is a legend. He’s a dual international and a tough man. Had a great season with the Raiders this year. Unreal.
“They played such good footy. It was a very tough grand final they played in. I’d say it might be a bit weird for them. He’s going there for learning stuff.”
Cheika said had plenty of nice things to say about Stuart too, a man who he has crossed paths with a number of times.
“Yeah I know Ricky, have known him from way back,” he said.
“He got me to coach the Roosters once in the sevens when they used to have the World Sevens or one of those competitions.
“I don’t think he wanted to have a bar of it.
“He thought it was not even football because they were playing sevens or a shorter version of the games.
“He’s a good guy, nice guy and very passionate about his footy and I love his passion for the game.”
