The Wallabies have come through arguably the toughest group in Rugby World Cup history to put themselves i
Forget the Pool of Death, the Wallabies have simply made the most of the Pool of Fortune.
Remember the headlines after the Wallabies' hard-fought 28-13 win over Fiji: how the Wallabies had failed to collect a four-try bonus point as England had done a few days earlier?
Cheika's riposte, at the time, was simple. "No team has ever won the World Cup by dropping a game, so we're just planning to win every game," he said. It certainly raised a few eyebrows, particularly among the British journalists buried deep within the bowels of Millennium Stadium.
But with the tournament hosts now gone and the Wallabies preparing for a quarterfinal against the lowest-ranked nation of the eight remaining survivors, it's abundantly clear Cheika nailed that mental approach. And Adam Ashley-Cooper says that cognitive skill set is the Australian coach's most important asset.
"I think, more than anything, he's probably just helped us work on our mental prep ... the mindset of going into Tests week-in, week-out," Ashley-Cooper said when asked what had been Cheika's most important contribution to the campaign. "You know it really allowed us to focus on ourselves and build our mental strength; create a lot of self-belief.
"And I think that's really important, especially when you're playing in big tournaments like the World Cup. You've got to have a balance between that confidence and that self-belief, knowing that you can go out there and perform for your team and for yourself."
Cheika's "knockout" approach to the Wallabies' pool games may seem little more than a re-working of the old cliché "taking it one game at a time", but getting players to buy into that belief isn't as simple as it sounds. Had the Wallabies boss spoken of the need for bonus points, and therefore brought in the possibility of defeat, Australia may not find themselves in the position they do now.
"Well like Michael said it's going to be our toughest challenge of this World Cup," Ashley-Cooper said. "We've been playing every game like its knockout football; I mean we've had to approach that way because of the nature of the circumstances of the draw of the pool.
"And you know, we're fortunate enough to be in this position now; we're approaching every game like we have been. It's a Test match, Scotland are going to turn up and play for their people and their country; they're a passionate country. And I've experienced that when I've played them before. You can never underestimate that type of passion.
"So I'm expecting that type of intensity at the weekend and it's going to be no different to the last times we've played Scotland or any other country I've played. It's a huge occasion and every player is going to be very excited and very motivated to play."
It's no secret, within Australia anyway, that Cheika's coaching style is weighted heavily towards the mental side of the game. Turn up to any Wallabies training sessions and you'll see defence coach Nathan Grey barking just as many, if not more, orders, and backline guru Stephen Larkham moving from player to player for an individual chat; but there's no doubt its Cheika's show.
Cheika now just needs the players to land three more knockout blows, and he really will have brained it.