Even Michael Cheika's Chinese waving cat couldn't help the Aussies

It's been over 20 years since the Wallabies last beat the All Blacks at Eden Park so you can understand Australian coach Michael Cheika looking outside of the box for answers.

But viewers may have been surprised to see Cheika sitting with a 'maneki-neko' last night, a Chinese waving cat said to bring good luck to its owner.



It didn't work for the Australian coach as his side were soundly beaten 40-12 by the All Blacks.

Cheika discussed the relevance of the waving cat during the Wallabies' June series against Ireland.

"The coaches always go out during the week for a Chinese feed somewhere and there's always one of these Maneki-neko in the background," Cheika told Channel 10.

"We've got a little collection brewing. We're not superstitious in any way!

"They've been travelling with us for a bit now ... you just haven't seen them. We'll probably hide them again now you've seen them."

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.