Under-fire Wallabies forwards coach Simon Raiwalui insists he feels no extra pressure for improved results.
The giant former Fiji international second-rower was a surprise choice to take over from the highly regarded Mario Ledesma, who became Argentina coach earlier this year.
Raiwalui came in before the 2-1 home series defeat to Ireland and has tasted victory in just three of the 10 Tests he's been involved in.
His role has come under increasing scrutiny with the Wallabies lineout in particular enduring some major difficulties this year.
The scrum also struggled against Wales last week but Raiwalui insists the forwards were much improved against the Welsh after their struggles against the All Blacks in Tokyo last month.
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"I thought for the majority of the time we had ascendancy," Raiwalui said.
"We scrummaged well as a unit, I think that came through at the end of the match.
"We started to get a little bit of dominance and got a few turnovers so it was a good work on Saturday."
Born in New Zealand but brought up in Australia, the 44-year-old Raiwalui is a former Australian schoolboys international who played for Manly.
He spent his entire professional career playing in Europe for English sides Sale and Saracens and enjoyed spells in Wales with Cardiff and Newport.
After ending his playing career he was appointed as an assistant coach at French side Racing 92, before joining Stade Francais en route to Biarritz where his work was brought to the attention of Cheika, who was impressed enough to offer him a job.
Cheika and his entire back-room staff are all under huge pressure with the World Cup less than a year away and Saturday's clash against Italy in Padua a match the team dare not lose.
Raiwalui said the team were fully aware results needed to improve but welcomed the challenge.
"It's not difficult. Pressure's pressure, it's part of every day," he said.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves so if you put pressure on yourself it's part of the job. We enjoy it and we know it's there so it's not a problem."
The 44-year-old also maintains success is not that far away and he has full confidence in his methods and the talent at his disposal.
"We want to keep on improving towards that World Cup, keep on developing," he said.
"It's keeping developing those guys and getting them really battle-hardened for the Tests that are coming up and coming ahead.
"Cheik's great to work with because he's an open book.
"We share everything, we have meetings to discuss what we're doing as a team and it's a very, very close-knit coaching staff."
