Things could scarcely have gotten off to an uglier start for Joe Schmidt as Australia head coach, with Saturday bringing a new all-time low for the Wallabies.
Leading by three points at the break in Santa Fe, Australia would completely crumble in the second half, shipping an astonishing 50 points and mustering just seven after the break to fall to a 67-27 defeat to Argentina.
Having led 20-3 at one point in the opening period, the Aussies ultimately fell to one of their worst-ever defeats, summarizing what has been a catastrophic Rugby Championship thus far.
FT in Santa Fe.#Wallabies #TRC2024 pic.twitter.com/MPiCkH1B5r
— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 7, 2024
The previous week had seen the Wallabies take a last-gasp one-point victory over Los Pumas in La Plata - thus far, their only points of the Southern Hemisphere championship.
Former Ireland head coach Schmidt took over in charge of Australia after their worst-ever World Cup performance last autumn, though it seems the task ahead is just as bleak for the New Zealander.
With the British & Irish Lions touring the country in 2025, and Australia hosting the World Cup in 2027, the pressure is on to turn things around quickly for one of rugby's giants.
However, former England scrum-half Ben Youngs does not see any improvement in the side's future. Youngs even brutally claimed that the 2013 Lions squad he was a part of (in its current state) would have a chance of beating this current Australia team.
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Ben Youngs' Lions comments sums up Joe Schmidt's horror start to life in Australia
With eight of the country's 12 heaviest-ever defeats coming in the last five years, and four of those since the 2023 Rugby Championship, Australia's fall from grace continues at a frightening pace.
Speaking on his podcast For the Love of Rugby this week, Ben Youngs spoke about the horrendous current state of affairs for the Wallabies.
Youngs suggested that the side had gotten even worse since Joe Schmit took over, and brutally suggested that a "reunion" tour of the retired Lions team in 2013 would stance a chance of "doing the business" on Australia next summer.
I’m looking at and thinking the Lions are better off going to South Africa and touring there. Given that the last time they went there was no fans allowed.
I don’t know, maybe we’ll just do a reunion of 2013 and we’ll just go f***ing do the business on them – get all the lads out of retirement.
The England legend went on to say that the current Lions team could enjoy a "field day" down under next summer. He would even express something approaching pity for players whose first two Lions tours would be a duo lacking in the traditional spectacle.
If you’re a Lions fan going out there, you going to have a hell of a tour, like you are going to watch the Lions run riot...I think they can have a field day out there.
Imagine your first Lions tour is that COVID one in South Africa behind closed doors and all that comes with it, right but that’s your first experience for a Lions tour which should be the pinnacle.
Then your next tour is Australia – great country and all that – but you're ****ing every provincial side by 50-60 points. Then you get into the Test matches and you run riot and have got it wrapped up after two games with an aggregate of 110 points.
I think Australia look worse than they did in the summer.
Youngs' comments may come across as arrogant, though you would be hard-pressed to find many Australian fans feeling optimistic about their chances against the Lions next summer.
With Schmidt's former Ireland assistant coach Andy Farrell leading the Lions, it could be a painful test series for Australia.
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