Wanted to leave Australian job before World Cup - Michael Cheika

Former Australia coach Michael Cheika admitted that he should have left the Wallabies role before the World Cup.

Cheika had been in charge of Australia since 2014 and guided them to a Rugby Championship title in 2015 and also to the final of the World Cup later that year where they lost to the eventual champions New Zealand.

However, the Wallabies endured a tough time since then where they managed just 23 wins from 60 games and also suffered home series defeats to England and Ireland.

Cheika had pressure from media and former players heading into the World Cup year with the Australian board even appointing Scott Johnson as their new Director of Rugby to review the game in the country.

"In a footy team there can only be one boss, that's all there is to it," Cheika said. "I should have left because that shows they didn't trust me anymore."

"I loved Australian rugby and I thought I could do it, I believed I could get the players together and I didn't want to let the players and the supporters down.

"I tried to manage it the best way I could without being out of order.

"If you cause turbulence at that point, everyone feels it and I didn't need everyone to feel the turbulence in the team.

"You have to deal with it internally."