Michael Cheika wants Australian players to aspire for bigger goals

Australian head coach Michael Cheika wants his team to aim for bigger goals ahead of the autumn internationals.

Since their World Cup final defeat to New Zealand in October 2015, Australia have played 10 Tests and managed wins in just three games. During the course, they were whitewashed by England in a three-match home series for the first time in history and also lost the three Bledisloe Cup encounters against All Blacks.

Currently, Australia will face Wales, Scotland, France, Ireland and England in their autumn internationals and Cheika urged the team to play with a lot of passion.

"I think that it's very important for players to have dreams of achieving the bigger picture items. I really do, I believe that's important," he said at his arrival press conference in London.

"If you don't have those dreams inside of you, then what are you doing it for?

"That's in the background, but that will only come to fruition when we're excellent every day and our players are learning.

"We're really trying to do the right thing, not just for the short term, but also for the medium term."

The 49-year-old also had a shoulder injury following a collision with Israel Folau during a practice session ahead of the recent Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand at Eden Park. However, Cheika saw the lighter side of it.

"Izzy's still on the tour, so he's all right. He didn't get dropped," he said.

"The important thing was that he didn't get injured. The coach can't be injuring the players.

"I have a new empathy for players recovering from reconstructive surgery because it's quite painful. Maybe it is because I am a little bit older."