World Rugby Coach of the Year Michael Cheika reacts to Australia's 34-17 loss in the Rugby World Cup final to New Zealand

The Wallaby coach was rightly awarded Coach of the Year by World Rugby for transforming an Australian team destined for the gutter to World Cup finalists in 12 months.

Having taken over from Ewan McKenzie in October last year, Cheika seemed determined to change the concept of what Australian rugby meant to his players.

He never had the privilege of pulling on the gold jersey, which may have made it easier for him to let his players know just how lucky they are.

Throughout the tournament, the whole squad has been singing off the same hymn sheet.

Every player talked about going day-to-day and trying to improve a little bit each time they trained.

But there was a very different sheet being talked about last week.

A photo of a piece of paper in the head coach’s hand was published by the Daily Mail at an open training session, and Cheika wasn’t too pleased with it.

He said: “The context of what was in it and stuff like that - that was no biggie.

“It's nothing like there was any super tactics or anything in there, but it is a little bit disingenuous when you open yourself up and someone focuses on that, but that's the way it is.

“It's nothing to cry about, but I think I'll cancel myself to the Daily Mail - I think that's where it was.

“Actually, I don't even know if I've got one to be honest.

“I'm sure my wife has.”

Although Cheika’s international pedigree was an unknown quantity, he is the only coach to win the major club tournament in each hemisphere – lifting the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009 and the Super Rugby title with the Waratahs last year.

Did he think he’d be battling to be crowned the best team in the world a year on?

“At the time I didn't really think about it to be honest, I was just surprised that I'd even been asked to do it from where I've come from,” said the 48-year-old.

“As we sat down and started to hatch a plan - you start to believe.

“Unfortunately we've come up short in the end because the goal wasn't to make the final - in our plan the goal was to win.

“I know many people didn't expect us to, but believing has to start to somewhere, so one person starts, another person starts and another and you build a bit of a crowd.

“When they get together you can really start to do things.

“I think that's the mental side of things we've really improved on and the platforms for our play, some of our work off the field too.

“It's lots of little things, not one lightbulb moment.

“It's those small things and everyone doing those small things every day.”

The Wallabies have garnered huge praise during the tournament, not least when they knocked England out in the group stages with a stunning display to win 33-13.

“I've been really pleased with the way we've handled things and the we've been really honest about the way we've done things both on and off the field and with our participation in the tournament,” Cheika said.

“We're probably a bit disappointed tonight because we wanted to go out and sing the national anthem with our team as coaches but World Rugby didn't let us.

“So, we're a probably a little disappointed about that, but that's neither here nor there if that's the way it is.

“We've really enjoyed it and we've tried to improve throughout the tournament.

“It came pretty quickly for us as a group, but we've tried to make the best of it.”

His superstar fullback Israel Folau told The Argus after the game that teams learn more when they lose than when they win and the head coach had to pick his words carefully in the changing rooms on Saturday.

He said: “At full time, the first thing you've got to do is go and acknowledge your opponent and congratulate them.

“You want to have a war on the field but when you get off the field you've got to respect your opponent for what he's done and then in the dressing room we just spoke about maybe not the rugby matters but the personal matters.

“Things we've worked on as a group of people to improve in the way we are and how we do things and the affect we can have on others within our own community, rugby in Australia and all those things.

“I've been very proud of the team, there's not much more I could've asked them to do and I think we came pretty close.

“We swung the momentum back our way even though it didn't go our way in the first half and a bounce of the ball here and a call there means it could've been closer.”

New Zealand proved just how peerless they are with their back-to-back-triumph, and Cheika admitted this loss did sting.

He said: “The number didn't matter at the end there.

“It was obviously very painful to lose, it was a big match, we had a great campaign and we wanted to continue that on and when you look up and see you haven't done that - that's when it's painful.

“But you've got to eat it up.”

Most thought it was game over at 21-3, but the Wallabies came roaring back to close the gap to just four points with Ben Smith in the bin for an illegal tackle on Drew Mitchell.

It was probably a bridge too far for Australia, but you wouldn’t hear Michael Cheika say that.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

“A few penalties and then the scores before and after half time - they're very good like that.

“But I felt 40 minutes was enough time and even after they scored - 35 minutes was enough for us to claw our way back into the contest and change the momentum of the game, which we did.

“At 21-17 and then even when we got seven points behind you can score a try and take the game into extra time, so we were right back in the hunt in the second half.

“We could've quite easily gone home then and everyone would've been happy and we had a good campaign, but the heart and the courage in the team - which has been built in to last going forward - showed they didn't want to do that and they stayed in the battle until the end.”

In the end, two moments of class from Dan Carter – a 50m plus penalty and a dropgoal - pulled them away and a try from Beauden Barrett put the icing on the cake for New Zealand.

Cheika said: ”The dropgoal from Dan Carter was well set up, but the painful part was the scrum penalty afterwards.

“I think that was a little bit surprising for me.

“I know we got pushed around earlier when we had a problem with our back five, but the other scrum was painful and it took the lead to 10 which made it really difficult for me.”

Uncommon for an Australian – he was also full of praise for Carter and All Black captain Richie McCaw.

He said: “I think you only need to see the reaction of the crowd and how they respond to the two players and how instrumental they are.

“They might be retiring from internationals, but they're still very instrumental on the field of play.

“I think that's good and I've only had a few contests against them as a coach either through the Crusaders or through Australia and New Zealand but it's a good contest, they always stand up to the plate and we enjoy playing against them.”

But he also kept some praise in reserve for his own star men – and heralded his own breakdown masters.

He said: “He's [David Pocock] obviously played outstandingly and Michael Hooper alongside him.

“For us we've got Scott Fardy in there who doesn't get as many accolades perhaps and he does his work amazingly.

“And we've got Shaun McMahon sitting in the background, Liam Gill back home, so we're really lucky in those positions and what that does is it pushes the players in that spot to perform.

“Pocock and Hooper are both not only outstanding players, they're outstanding people and that usually sets the right agenda for longevity in the game and making a real big contribution.

“I think both of those guys are going to be instrumental to Australian rugby growing, getting more supporters, getting more kids playing the game and enjoying the sport more.”

There was also plenty of slaps on the back for Kurtley Beale too, who has had to make do with a matchday place despite playing better rugby than the man occupying the 15 shirt in Israel Folau.

“He's been outstanding on this trip and his consistency for the whole year in training every day has been great,” Cheika said.

“Not only that, but he's probably been one of our best in terms of mixing up starting and bench and that's hard for him to take because he wants to be the best.

“So for him to come on as a finisher is very difficult but his attitude towards those things and coming on and making a contribution to the team - which he did again in the final - he's been outstanding for us.

“I like him a lot as a player, I've had a lot to do with him in the last few years as a player and I think he'll only get better.”

But what next for the Wallabies under Michael Cheika, and how can they reign in the All Blacks from going for a hat-trick in Japan 2019.

The head coach said: “You've just got to stay at it and keep trying to improve.

“Keep testing yourselves again and again and we're lucky in The Rugby Championship we get to play against them regularly so we can keep trying to improve.

“You've got to mark yourself against the best and they've been number one for a while.

“I think we've made good ground over the last 12 months in that area and we've got to keep growing.

“I've said to the guys, "Don't be counting down, lads. This is just the start. We're just starting".

“We want to do really good things for Australian rugby going forward both in the way we play the game and then hopefully the results as well by consequence.

“With the guys here and the guys back home playing as well.

“That's something we want to keep doing and the more we test ourselves against South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina in our championships and then the inbound tours the better we'll get.”