‘I take full responsibility’: Jones apologises again with World Cup in tatters

Lyon: Eddie Jones’ second tenure at the Wallabies suffered a disastrous new low after his side all but crashed out of the World Cup with a record 40-6 loss to Wales, prompting another apology to fans from the beleaguered coach.

With Jones watching in the stands in Lyon on Sunday (Monday AEST), just hours after this masthead revealed he had spoken last month with Japanese rugby officials about their vacant national head coaching role, the Wallabies were humiliated and outclassed 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 eclipsed the 24-point defeat in the 2019 quarter-final defeat against England.

“Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the Australian supporters, to the people who travelled here and stayed up late at night. Our performance wasn’t up to the standard that is required and I apologise for that. I take full responsibility for that,” Jones said.

“We have a young team in there who are disappointed, they tried their hearts out but unfortunately at the moment, we just don’t have the consistency to put pressure on teams like Wales.”

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

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

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. The top two in the pool qualify for the quarter-finals, with leaders Wales already through. Even if second-placed Fiji lose to either Georgia or Portugal in their remaining two group games, which is unlikely, the Wallabies could still finish third.

Trying to regroup for a match on Sunday (Monday AEST) against Portugal will be a huge task for the Wallabies after an evening where everything went wrong.

Carter Gordon is dumped to the floor in Lyon.Credit: AP

Asked whether he believed he could turn things around, Jones said: “That’s a judgment for Rugby Australia. I think I have the ability to turn things around. I was hoping to be able to do it by now but I haven’t been able to and I take full responsibility for it. I haven’t done a good enough job and I am bloody disappointed about that.”

It was a dysfunctional performance from a youthful Wallabies side that lacked cohesion.

“It didn’t have to be like this,” Wallabies veteran Bernard Foley, who wasn’t selected for the World Cup, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Australia will potentially have to wait until October 8 – a week after their final game – before their exit is confirmed.

Rob Valetini and the Wallabies during their loss to Wales.Credit: AP

“We let the country down, we let ourselves down – pretty embarrassing to be honest,” second-rower Richie Arnold said. “F---, mate, what didn’t go wrong?”

New No.10 Ben Donaldson, in just his second Test in the position, struggled to have an impact. Like Carter Gordon last week, he was taken off with about half an hour remaining.

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

It was a coach-killing blow, after Jones’ pre-match demand that discipline must be tightened for a game against a crafty team at the breakdown.

By the third minute, the men in red had sliced Australia 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 but Gareth Anscombe booted Wales to a 16-6 half-time lead.

A moment in the 26th minute 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, kicked the ball downfield for a sensational 50-22 that was effectively a 22-22.

It did not yield points, but it was a psychological blow for a young 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 try all match.

The last 40 minutes would have been a blur for the players, who were broken at full-time. The set-piece fell away as heads dropped under the magnitude of what was unfolding.

Earlier this year, after Rugby Australia sacked Dave Rennie and brought Jones back, chairman Hamish McLennan said, “buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride”.

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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