England head coach Eddie Jones has accused Australia’s head coach Michael Cheika of showing a lack of respect.
The Aussie accused his fellow countryman by trying to influence Saturday’s referee, Ben O’Keeffe, through the media.
Jones was reacting to allegations by Cheika that England will “bully” the Wallabies on Saturday and that they specifically look to target their half-backs with late hits.
“Obviously [Australia] like the media more than the referee,” said Jones.
“The referee is an intelligent guy and I’m sure he won’t be influenced by comments made in the press.
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“I have coached over 100 Tests and every Test I have had a meeting with the referee and it is a sign of respect that you want to know what he wants from the game and what we want and it is a mutual exchange of information for the benefit of the game.”
Asked about Cheika’s claims England have targeted Australia’s half-backs during their four-match winning run against the Wallabies, Jones added: “We’ve played four games against Australia, there have been great referees in each of those four games.
“We play by the rules and are happy to stand by that. [Cheika] obviously feels the referees haven’t done a good job so possibly he should be taking that up with the refere, not the media.”