Michael Cheika is refusing to be gagged, not backing down on Sunday after All Blacks coach Steve Hansen accused his Wallabies counterpart of "hijacking" New Zealand's test world record celebrations.
In a sensational aftermath to Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup series finale in Auckland, Cheika took aim at New Zealand media over being depicted as a clown and then claimed the All Blacks did not respect the Wallabies, suggesting they were involved in the media caricature.
Seething after being portrayed as an angry clown complete with red nose in a mock up picture in the country's biggest paper, the New Zealand Herald, alongside the headline "send in the clowns" on the match morning, Cheika let rip in an extraordinary rant after Australia's 37-10 loss at Eden Park.
Hansen later said Cheika needed to be bigger than to take a newspaper's barb to heart and said it was wrong to suggest the All Blacks could dictate what the media did.