Wallabies’ World Cup in tatters after record loss to Wales

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Lyon: The Eddie Jones experiment can officially be declared a disaster after the Wallabies all but crashed out of the World Cup in record-breaking fashion.

With Jones watching in the stands in Lyon, just hours after this masthead revealed he’d had a job interview with Japan last month, the Wallabies were humiliated and outclassed 40-6 by Wales, who continued their perfect record in this tournament after three matches.

Last week’s 22-15 loss to Fiji was woeful but this defeat – Australia’s heaviest to Wales – was ugly and easily the worst in their World Cup history.

In terms of margin, it was the worst loss Australia have suffered at a World Cup, eclipsing the 24-point margin in the 2019 quarter-final defeat against England.

Australia never got into the contest and were blown away in almost every facet of the game.

Until last week, the Wallabies had lost just three World Cup pool matches in 36 years.

Wales’ Nick Tompkins celebrates after scoring a try.Credit: AP

Now, they’ve suffered two devastating defeats in seven days. It is the first time Australia have lost two pool matches at the same World Cup.

Australia will need a mathematical miracle to avoid becoming the first Wallabies side to bomb out in the pool stages of the game’s showpiece.

Trying to regroup for a match on Sunday against Portugal will be a mighty task after an evening where everything went wrong.

There will be an enormous backlash in Australia, as brutal as the clinical showing that Wales’ forwards put on.

This was a dysfunctional Wallabies performance from a side that lacked cohesion because of a head coach who insisted youth was needed to revitalise Australian rugby.

Australia’s path to a quarter-final is complicated, and they face the unwanted situation of potentially having to wait until October 8 – a week after their final game – before their exit is confirmed.

New No.10 Ben Donaldson, in just his second Test in the position, struggled to have a big impact on the game. Like Carter Gordon last week, he was pulled from the field in the 53rd minute.

After conceding 18 penalties in their loss to Fiji, Australia conceded a penalty 13 seconds into the match to gift Wales field position.

That is the definition of a coach-killer, after Jones’ pre-match demand that discipline must be tightened for a match against a crafty team at the breakdown.

By the third minute, the men in red sliced Australia right through the middle as Donaldson tried in vain to stop Jac Morgan who threw a crisp last pass to Gareth Davies back on the inside.

A couple of Australian penalties got the deficit back to one point before Gareth Anscombe booted Wales ahead 16-6 by the half-time mark.

There was a moment in the 26th minute that epitomised Australia’s woes.

With a lineout close to the Wales line, Dave Porecki overcooked the throw, after some confusion in the middle, to a free Wales player.

That man, Morgan, booted the ball downfield for a sensational 50-22 that was effectively a 22-22.

Although it did not yield points, it was a psychological blow for a young Wallabies side that looked overawed by the enormity of what was at stake.

Wales’ second try came in the 48th minute through Nick Tompkins, who raced through to regather a superb chip kick over the top from Anscombe when Australia didn’t have a fullback in place.

The Wallabies did not score a point in the second half and couldn’t manage a single try all match.

The last 40 minutes would have been a blur for the players. The set-piece fell away as heads dropped with the magnitude of what was unfolding.

Fans watching on television in Australia could have been forgiven for thinking they were trapped in a bad dream after waking up early on a Monday morning, hoping for Jones to work the magic he has promised all year.

Earlier this year, after RA sacked Dave Rennie and brought Jones back, chairman Hamish McLennan delivered this one-liner.

“Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride,” he said.

Eight months on, it is anything but fun for the thousands of Wallabies fans who travelled to France after being sold the dream by Jones.

Watch all the action from the Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match streaming ad-free, live and in 4K UHD with replays, mini matches and highlights available on demand.

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