Cheika not worried about Hunt backlash

Cheika raised a few eyebrows when he named under-performing Reds fullback Karmichael Hunt in his first squad of the year.

And the coach is adamant no amount of public criticism will sway him to reconsider.

He is standing firm behind the Rugby League convert, who is struggling to find the form that made him such a star in the 13-man code.

When asked whether he was concerned about potential public backlash about Hunt's selection, Cheika said he understood both sides of the coin but ultimately it was an individual choice.

"That's their choice," he said in an interview on rugby.com.au.

"The guy's trying to – he's working on himself to be better, like we all are. There's certainly no one that's perfect in the group.

"I understand that [other point of view] as well. I'm certainly not proclaiming that it has to be the other way around.

"He's always been very respectful to me and he's always tried his best on the footy field as well which is part of it.

"He's acknowledged his errors and he wants to move on."

While Hunt has the full backing of his teammates and coaching staff, his next challenge is getting back to full fitness.

The Reds fullback sat out training for the second day in a row, with a groin niggle that has seen him miss the past two Super Rugby matches as well.

The Wallaby coach said he didn't do anything remarkable for Hunt, rather just treated him like anyone else.

"I just told the truth," he said.

"Things go wrong sometimes. Forgiveness is also a very Christian value too.

"He acknowledged he made a mistake and I wanted to help. Isn't the logic to try and help guys get over errors they make?"

"What we're doing every day technically and that's what we're trying to do in life."

Source: rugby.com.au

@rugbycomau