Still early days for Australia, says new coach Cheika

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Disappointed Australia coach Michael Cheika said it was still early days for the side he took over a month ago after they lost for the second week in a row, a narrow 26-23 defeat by Ireland on Saturday. Cheika was appointed when Ewen McKenzie dramatically quit in the midst of a crisis caused by utility back Kurtley Beale allegedly sending offensive text messages to a team official. After also losing by three points to France in Paris last week, Australia battled back from 17 points down inside 14 minutes in a game the former New South Wales Waratahs coach thought they should have won. "I'm not an excuse maker, I think it's still such early days getting to how we want to play and sometimes I suppose in the early intensity of the test match that doesn't work out exactly as you plan it," Cheika told a news conference. "But we showed a lot of resilience, a lot of toughness to come back in that game, away from home it would have been easy to pack up but we came back and came back really well and I'm just very, very sad about losing that one." With England to come in the final match of a long season next weekend, Cheika said there was no such thing as being tired when you are playing for Australia and that there was much to build on. "There's a lot of good bits. We're obviously trying to set up a certain shape and style and we did that a fair bit tonight which was good," he added. "We just lacked that clinical edge at the end, we don't have that yet." Cheika, who spent five seasons in Ireland as coach of Leinster before his opposite number on Saturday, Joe Schmidt, took over in 2010, said he was disappointed not to have made a winning return. "It's hard to really like people and then want to go out and smash them on Saturday but that's rugby," said Cheika who guided Leinster to their first European Cup triumph in 2009. "I knew everyone was lying to me when they said good luck." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)