Cheika unconcerned by bonus points

Dejan Kalinic

Cheika unconcerned by bonus points image

Australia coach Michael Cheika was unfazed by his team's failure to secure a bonus point in their 28-13 win over Fiji at the Rugby World Cup.

The Wallabies ran in three tries, two by David Pocock, at the Millennium Stadium in their tournament opener on Wednesday.

Despite falling one try short of a bonus point, an unconcerned Cheika said his focus was purely on winning.

"I'm new to Test footy and international rugby, but for me winning a Test match - that's all you need to do and then you go to the next one," he said.

"I'm not counting points. I just want to win one game and then go to the next game and try and win the other. That's it."

Australia looked set for a bonus point in Pool A when Sekope Kepu crossed for their third try in the 43rd minute, but they were only able to add one penalty following the conversion.

Cheika was pleased with his team's performance as they joined Wales and England with wins in Pool A.

"I think we were very pleased to have a win in our first game," he said.

"I know the boys have been waiting to play for a fair while and...it was quite a good level of physicality and a lot of work.

"I think the lads had to do a lot of work, it was really positive for us in the fact that we probably haven't played a lot of rugby over the last period so that was always something that we needed to come to terms with relatively quickly in the competition."

The Wallabies' second outing is a clash against Uruguay in Birmingham on Sunday.

Dejan Kalinic