Sydney's two premiership-winning coaches teamed up in Cardiff and Paris as Cheika took the reins of the Wallabies and Robinson got inside access to the Test side just days before the Sydney Roosters start pre-season training.

Cheika led the NSW Waratahs to a Super Rugby title this year while Robinson guided the Roosters to the premiership last year in his first season as an NRL coach.

They have previously held joint training sessions in Sydney and planned a tour to NFL club the San Francisco 49ers, Major League Baseball team the Oakland Athletics, colleges Berkeley and Stanford and a leadership conference in London.

But when Cheika was thrust into the Wallabies coaching job when Ewen McKenzie quit last month, the chance to join the Australian squad was too good to pass up for Robinson.

"In between the US and the conference in London, we planned on just filling it with our own time … as soon as Cheik got the job, I finished in the US on a Thursday and it was good timing to come in and observe," Robinson said.

"We've worked next to each other [at the Roosters and NSW Waratahs] for two years, but because we're in season we haven't been able to just observe.

"And I got the chance to observe the start of a new phase with a new coach, it's always interesting to see the building blocks of a system. That's been really interesting.

"It was nice of [Cheika] to let me come in and be a fly on the wall for five days."

Robinson sat with Cheika for the Wallabies' tense win against Wales last week and has spent the past two days in Paris to cast his eye over the team's training set up before Roosters pre-season training starts on Monday.

Robinson will be joined by his other Moore Park neighbour – Sydney Swans premiership-winning coach John Longmire – at the leadership conference.

He also met with Berkeley American football coach Sonny Dykes, Stanford officials as well as the 49ers head of performance and the president of the Athletics, Michael Crowley.

But his international schedule didn't sync up with code-crosser Sonny Bill Williams, who is in Europe as part of New Zealand's rugby tour.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said last week Williams had become a better rugby player after a two-year stint – which included the 2013 NRL premiership - with the Roosters.

"It would have been nice to catch him, but we just missed each other. It's been great to see him do well [for the All Blacks] in the last two games," Robinson said

"It's a credit to him the way he gets back into it so quickly and his professionalism which allows him to rise to those heights so quickly.

"[The All Blacks] have obviously decided he's in really good form and shape to get back into their line-up, I know from what I saw is that he'll do anything for the team."

Robinson, who is fluent in French, joined the first two days of Wallabies training in Paris and spoke at length with Cheika about the challenge of taking on the national team.

The pair have followed similar paths into coaching, both playing overseas and starting their coaching careers in Europe before returning to Australia.

Robinson coached the Catalans Dragons – now home to Todd Carney – while Cheika was in charge of Stade Francais.

"He's been to our training, I've been to theirs and we trained as two squads together this year, there's been quite a bit of interaction," Robinson said.

"It's always 30 minutes here or an hour, that's why we were both looking forward to the trip because we could talk about footy. It ended up in different circumstances but obviously good for both of us.

"I just came in open minded, I wasn't really looking for anything. You just need some left-field ideas that light you up and get you to think about things differently."

The start of Roosters' pre-season training coincides with Robinson's return to Australia.

It will mark the beginning without Williams and club champion Anthony Minichiello, but the team is set to be bolstered by Blake Ferguson if the NRL agrees to register his contract.

Ferguson has been training, but is still waiting on an official tick of approval to make his comeback after being sacked by the Canberra Raiders and deregistered by the NRL following a series of off-field incidents, including one at a Cronulla nightclub while in camp with NSW.

Robinson's only focus has been soaking up knowledge before his third season as an NRL coach.

Former Parramatta fullback Jarryd Hayne shocked the NRL when he decided to chase an NFL dream last month.

Robinson said there were no immediate plans to recruit NFL hopefuls to the NRL, but didn't rule it out for the future.

"It has been done in the past … if we get to the point where we look outside the box then they're definitely the power model that we want," Robinson said.