Speaking before this evening's fixture, Eddie Jones said he was absolutely convinced that his Australia team would beat Wales and keep their Rugby World Cup campaign alive.
That went well.
The Wallabies were absolutely played off the park in Lyon, coming out on the wrong end of a 40-6 scoreline. The Welsh dominated in ever facet of the game, and having scored a try after just two minutes, they never looked like giving up that lead.
𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓! 🏴
Disastrous start for Australia as Wales break from a line out and Jac Morgan feeds Gareth Davies for the try! #WALvAUS | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/TBt3CwHG7w— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 24, 2023
Trailing by ten points at the break, you would have expected Australia to come out and put up a spirited showing in the second half. That certainly was not the case, with Wales going to run up a massive lead as the Wallabies struggled to execute even the most basic skills.
In the end, the scoreline in no flattered Warren Gatland's side. As for Australia, this result means that they will be eliminated from the Rugby World Cup at the pool stage for the first time.
Eddie Jones apologises to fans after Australia loss to Wales
Eddie Jones has experienced a horrific start to his second stint with Australia. The team failed to win a single game during the Rugby Championship or tournament warmups, with their only victory coming in their pool stage game against Georgia. Since then, they have lost convincingly to both Fiji and Wales.
The head coach has insisted that he has a major rebuilding job on his hands, although this performance will raise serious questions about his immediate future in the role.
Speaking after the game, he said his side made too many errors and apologised to the Aussie supporters for their performance.
I wish I knew (what went wrong) mate. We started off, apart from the first try we played the first 20 or 30 minutes really well.
We just had a series of errors. Set-pieces errors, our ball-carrying, and we just couldn't sustain any pressure on Wales...
To get momentum you need to put together two or three really good sets of plays, that was something we weren't able to do...
Congratulations to Wales, mate. They played a really strong game of rugby, good at their set-piece, their kicking game was exceptional, and they defended well...
We've got to get ready for Portugal. There is one game to go in the tournament, we are going to pick up the pieces and put on a good performance. I apologise to all the supporters out there tonight...
All we've got to worry is putting a performance together against Portugal, mate.
Eddie Jones has been quick to shift the blame for Australia's form elsewhere, but he will not be able to deflect any further after this performance. They looked like an incredibly poorly coached team, one that seemed to lack a basic application level in this game.
While the problems in Australian rugby are deep rooted, it does not seem like Jones is the man to turn things around.
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