Sam Whitelock had his wife and son on hand in Sydney to celebrate his 100th cap, but very few Wallabies.

Michael Cheika has fired back at claims from Steve Hansen that the Wallabies disrespected Sam Whitelock by snubbing the presentation of his 100th All Blacks cap last weekend

At the All Blacks' press conference on Thursday Hansen was asked about only a few of the Wallabies players going over to Whitelock's on field presentation after the test match finished.

Hansen chose his words carefully, bearing in mind the tenuous state of the feeling between the two sides on the back of an unprecedented period of All Blacks dominance.

Stuff Here's the All Blacks team for the second Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies at Eden Park.

"It's not for me to comment on what their policy is, you need to ask them what that is," said Hansen of any decision to acknowledge these special ceremonies as a team.

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"I know if it was us we'd stay out and acknowledge it.

"I think it's a tremendous feat to play 100 test matches, it doesn't matter what country it is.

"There's a lot of energy, a lot of mental fortitude, a lot of time, and a lot of sacrifices by the players' family to get to that point. It's worthy of respecting it."

However, when Cheika was asked about it a couple of hours later at the Wallabies' hotel on Waiheke Island, he stood up for his players and said they were unaware of any ceremony for Whitelock.

"I've never seen it before," Cheika said.

"We certainly wouldn't be asking to do it on another team's ground, we do it in the dressing room, but if that's what they want to do, I'm sure they did.

"Congratulations to the player, he's a fine player. One hundred caps is a really great effort and same to the lad (Owen Franks) who's grabbing it this week as well.

"There's always respect there and to say that we lack respect is a little bit of a stretch from Steve Hansen."

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that New Zealand Rugby asked Rugby Australia more than a week out if they could hold Whitelock's ceremony on the field and RA consented. Then Late last week NZR asked if the presentation could be done on stage. RA informed them there was no stage planned given it was week one of the Rugby Championship and there were no official proceedings scheduled.

When the All Blacks started the presentation, many Wallabies were already in the stands greeting their families. Will Genia, Bernard Foley, Michael Hooper, Pete Samu and skills coach Mick Byrne joined the All Blacks.

This week another All Black (tighthead prop Franks) will be presented with his special 100th cap after Bledisloe II at Eden Park on Saturday night, and, win lose or draw, you get the feeling that they would like to see a better show from their trans-Tasman rivals this time round.

The New Zealanders, after their 38-13 victory in Sydney last Saturday, have two chances now to extend their Bledisloe winning streak to 16 straight years, and the Australians are clearly growing tired of playing second fiddle in the trans-Tasman battle.

A couple of years back, Cheika accused the All Blacks of lacking respect for his side, though the New Zealanders have always made it clear that the Bledisloe Cup is their most valued trophy outside of a World Cup, and their performances against the Australians have tended to reflect the standing they hold their rivals in.​