"All the way through, it's been spoken about but I don't believe that. Australia has lost to Scotland the last couple of times, maybe that's because they believed [the game was easy]...Well, we won't be this week."
The humble comments from Cheika are not tongue-in-cheek. He's made a distinct effort to rebuild the culture of the team since taking over late last year, reforging an identity which is confident but not arrogant.
And the proof was shown in a courageous defensive effort which kept Wales scoreless in the second-half, despite Australia being reduced to 13 men because of two yellow cards at one stage.
Wales crossed the try-line three times but were not able to ground the ball - and land the killer blow.
Cheika and Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said the resolve shown by the side was the result of all the hard work off the field.
"I'm a big believer that you have to have belief to come through a situation like that, not come through a situation like that to get belief," said Cheika.
"There's been a lot of hard work off the field to become more resilient, to build the belief in the team from where it was.
"So I was very proud, considering the context of the game."
Moore, who was constantly in the ear of referee Craig Joubert, added: "We try to keep it simple and work hard for each other. You don't magically find that in the weekend, it's something we work hard on during the week"
Despite yet another loss to Australia, Cheika believed Wales could still make the final.
"They're a good team, very well coached and had a few tricks up their sleeves which we hadn't seen.
"What I like about them, they have players who play with a lot of passion. I'm not into the crystal ball but they'll make their country proud for sure."
Something long-suffering Wallabies supporters are now able to say about their own team.
- Jared Savage at Twickenham
