Joe Schmidt has pleaded for patience after the Wallabies crashed to a 26-19 loss to a spirited Italy in Udine that’s plunged his tenure deeper into crisis.
The Wallabies’ latest collapse, marked by sloppy errors and costly ill-discipline, leaves them on the brink of missing out on a top-six world ranking ahead of next month’s 2027 World Cup draw.
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Ranked seventh, Australia will likely need to beat Ireland and France in their final two November fixtures to rescue their seeding, a tall order after back-to-back defeats against England and now Italy.
“I’m pretty gutted, to be honest,” Schmidt said post-match. “I said progress isn’t linear, but that was a flat performance. That’s a dip we can’t afford to have.”
Captain Harry Wilson cut a dejected figure.
“We’re hurting,” he said. “We wanted to fix up from last week. We said, ‘We’re going to fix it up,’ and we didn’t. We want to be a team which does what we said we’re going to do, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
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The result was eerily reminiscent of the Wallabies’ shock loss to Italy in Florence three years ago, which ultimately cost then coach Dave Rennie his job.
While Schmidt’s position is secure for now, with Les Kiss already lined up to take over in 2026, the Kiwi coach’s record makes for grim reading. Since the Wallabies’ famous win over the Springboks at Ellis Park in August, his side have managed just two victories (against Argentina and Japan) from eight Tests.
Photo: Timothy Rogers/Getty Images
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