The Wallabies may have jeaopadised their top six hopes for the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw with a 26-19 loss to Italy in Udine, with captain Harry Wilson and head coach Joe Schmidt lamenting the side’s efforts.
With two upcoming matches now ahead against Ireland and France, the Wallabies must now find a way to galvanise their energy and regain momentum from earlier in the year.
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Speaking directly after the game on the Stan Sport broadcast, both the coach and captain addressed the performance directly, with Schmidt believing the side ‘overplayed’ in their efforts to stifle the Italian momentum.
“We're hurting,” said Wilson candidly.
“We wanted to fix up from last week. We said we were going to fix it up and we didn't. We want to be a team that does what we say we're going to do, and we didn't do that tonight.
“The breakdown was a mess tonight. Credit to Italy, they made it a mess. There was a bit of a lottery in there, and they really benefited from there.”
“I'm pretty gutted to be honest,” Schmidt echoed on the broadcast.
“We just look a bit flat. I said progress isn't linear, but that was a flat performance.
“That's a dip we can't afford to have, and we've got two massive games coming up now. So I think we're going to have to recuperate as best we can and throw everything into the Irish game now.
“There were a lot of turnovers that the Italians got off us, and then that just put us on the back foot. I felt we went side to side a little bit, and once we got behind, we probably overplayed.
“We were static, and we really need to go back and just try to get a little bit more energy about us, particularly around that breakdown.”
Wilson, however, was quick to quash claims that the Wallabies might have bitten off more than they could chew with 15 Test matches in a calendar year, promising that the side would band together for Ireland.
“We've just got to stay connected,” Wilson said when asked about direction after the loss.
“We're a really close group, and we really do care for each other.
“It's going to hurt the next 24, 48 hours, and we're going to have to let it hurt because we've got two big Test matches to come, and I know this group will be able to get up for it. We're going to take some learnings from tonight, and we're going to be better next week.
“15 Test matches a year, it's obviously a massive year for us, but you're playing for your country, it's easy to get up.
“We want to do this, it's what we've dreamed of doing our whole life, and we've got to be better as a team.”
Schmidt will have plenty more injury concerns, with Carter Gordon and Angus Bell both leaving the field with injury concerns after encouraging performances, both nabbing tries.
The coach joked to veteran James Slipper on the broadcast that the 36-year-old might need to come out of retirement to help the side out.
“I thought Carter slotted in really well,” he said of his young flyhalf.
“We probably didn't have a whole lot of flow that allowed him to get into the game, but you saw how quick he is when he gets a bit of space, and he's still finding his way in the team.
“[On injuries], that's obviously a worry for us. With the attrition that's gone through the season, we're already missing a few key players. It will be tough.
“Slips, you might have to dig those boots out again. If Belly's no good, maybe back us up a little bit over here.”
