Cheika wants more Indigenous Wallabies

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika knows simply wearing a special jersey isn’t going to magically increase Indigenous representation in rugby union overnight.

But he is confident the gesture – together with a little more “concerted effort” across the board – can make rugby a more attractive pursuit for young Indigenous talents.

Australia will become the first national side to wear an Indigenous jersey in Saturday night’s third Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane.

It is an olive branch gesture from a sport that knows it has plenty of work on to boost Indigenous playing numbers and make up ground on the AFL and NRL.

Only 14 Indigenous men have played Test rugby out of the 914 to have worn Wallaby gold – and Cheika admitted “not enough” was being done to improve that number.

“Let’s be honest, I’m not going to try and pretend you wear a jersey and everything’s (fixed),” he said.

“It’s the intent to say we need to be doing better in that area and we embrace the parts of that culture that are with us.

“We’ve had many fine players, Indigenous persons who have played for the Wallabies and they’ve been represented in that jersey.

“But it’s also a sign for the future that says, have a look at the talent that’s out there.

“They’re playing in AFL and rugby league, no doubt about it, and we’d like to think that rugby union’s something that those talented footballers would like to be a part of.”

Cheika said there was no single reason why rugby flags behind the other codes on the Indigenous front.

“It’s just the way it is at this point,” he said.

“I see the talent that’s out there and I know that with a little bit more concerted effort from our end that we will get one more here, one more there at the elite level.

“At the junior level there’s a lot of kids playing. It’s about transitioning those kids into the elite level and getting more role models so we can go that way.”

The Indigenous Wallaby contingent is represented on the jersey by a striking pattern of 14 waterholes, ringed around a stylised design of the team’s mascot.

Cheika said wearing it would make the Suncorp Stadium clash an “even more memorable” occasion.

Despite the series itself being wrapped up in August it was already shaping as a tantalising affair, due to Stephen Moore’s last Test on home soil and Australia’s determination to prove a point to New Zealand after their near-miss in Dunedin.

“I don’t think anyone who I’ve run into has talked about it as a dead rubber. There’s a lot of excited people who want a go,” Cheika said.

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