Rugby: Bledisloe Cup 2018 - The reason behind Michael Cheika's bizarre Waiheke Island scheme

A dejected looking Michael Cheika at the post match press conference. Photo / Photosport

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, under pressure to turn around a loss in the first Bledisloe Cup test, says his decision to base his side at Waiheke Island before the return test at Eden Park was simply a case of trying something different rather than a search for a "magic pill".

Cheika has never been to Waiheke Island, extremely limited in terms of large hotels capable of hosting a squad of more than 30 players and support staff of about 15. It also has only two rugby fields and a limited selection of gyms.

The Wallabies normally base themselves in downtown Auckland, and his concession that he has never been there makes his decision all the more odd, yet for him it was simply a case of trying something new.

"Oh mate I didn't really think about it like that, I just thought it was something different," Cheika said today when asked if it was a roll of the dice to change the fortunes of a nation who haven't won at Eden Park since 1986.

"We'll stay there and set up camp and stay for the week and train. I don't think there's a magic pill here and 'I'll do this and I'll do that'. I just thought we'd stay somewhere a bit different. It's all about training well and preparing well - the mindset."

Asked if it was a case of basing his side away from distractions and in a more Wallaby-friendly zone, he said: "I didn't really think of that, like you're in New Zealand, you're going to get the same feeling everywhere.

"I've never been there myself. I just thought there's a footy field there, there's a gym there. It's something different for the lads. We'll get into our work straight away."

Cheika refused to accept the visit to Auckland was daunting, despite his side's terrible record at Eden Park against the All Blacks and the fact they are one-nil down in a three-test series.

"Not for me personally no and I think our players believe in each other," he said. "They have to trust the process they've built at training together. It's true we haven't won there for a while but this is a moment in time and we've got to make the decision it's not going to happen to us again.

The Wallabies will be without their attacking weapon Israel Folau due to injury and they will arrive low on confidence in terms of their pack, which was demolished at scrum and lineout time.

"The job's the same – we've still got to win two games," he said, before turning his attention to a lineout which failed seven times.

"You can't sook about it, you've got to get on with it. It's a lineout, go and get it. If you don't win it go and get the ball some other way. It's not debilitating. We've just got to recover and move on to the next thing."