Cheika adamant Australians won't be lured down easy path Chris Dutton Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says his team risks devaluing its opponents if it thinks finishing at the top of the pool of death will open the door to an easier path to World Cup glory. 
The Wallabies are desperate to continue their World Cup momentum when they play Wales in a match which will decide which team finishes top of the group.
The Wallabies delivered a fatal blow to England's campaign with a 33-13 win on the weekend, knocking the hosts out of the tournament in an embarrassing early exit.
The winner of the Australia- Wales match will play either Scotland or Japan in the quarter-finals and avoid a cross-over match against either New Zealand or Ireland until the final.
The Wallabies have won their past 10 Tests against Wales and are unbeaten in clashes between the countries since 2008.
Cheika insisted the Wallabies had only placed importance on remaining unbeaten, not who they play against. "By saying you've got an advantage [if you finish at the top of the pool] means you devalue the opposition that you could play against," Cheika said.
"You think the second team might be less than the first. Well, on the table that might look the good but I just saw the North Queensland Cowboys win the NRL and they didn't finish first.
"The Hurricanes dominated Super Rugby and finished first and lost [the final]," he added.
"We're not coming into this game and saying we want to finish first.
We want to do well in each game, progress through each game and each day improving because we know that will build the belief of the team and the consistency of the team going through the tournament," Cheika said.
"We all know history says no team has won the World Cup if they lose a match in the group stages."
The Wallabies are desperate to use their World Cup-defining match against Wales to finally end a pattern of failing to back up big- match performances.
Too often the Wallabies have produced a sparkling performance one week and followed it with a dour display the next.
But if Cheika gets his way, the rollercoaster of frustration will end against Wales.
"We still could have done some things better in the scrum [against England]," he said.
"It's the ultimate humbling experience because you can go really good in one scrum and get smashed in the next one if you're not on your game.
"Consistency is the king ... How we've approached this is just to go day by day, match by match."