The Wallabies are in freefall, and it’s difficult to see how things improve

Wallabies coach Les Kiss must put the Jeremy Williams-at-No.6 experiment in the bin and take Declan Meredith out of the firing line after an unacceptable 45-22 loss to England at Twickenham.

The Wallabies barely fired a shot in London and were extremely fortunate to only trail 19-10 at the halftime break. Only a Max Jorgensen intercept try and some pedantic refereeing from Frenchman Pierre Brousset prevented England from turning their complete domination into a cricket score.

The Wallabies lacked physical bite without Rob Valetini at No.6, and although Williams was serviceable, big lock Lukhan Salakia-Loto had a poor Test. Meredith struggled against England’s rush defence, although he hasn’t been helped by Ryan Lonergan’s form slump, and the Brumbies halfback was one of several Wallabies who struggled to cope with Maro Itoje’s defensive pressure.

There were few rays of sunshine for the Wallabies, although Ben Donaldson added a bit of spark to the attack when he was injected in the second half. But, for the second year in a row the Wallabies are in freefall after a notable win against the Springboks.

2. Showboat Pollock shows up Wallabies

Angus Bell became the first player to be shown a yellow card for a hip-drop tackle, and England will be fuming if the injury to electric winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso turns out to be serious. Feyi-Waboso was replaced at halftime by England’s hybrid flanker Henry Pollock, but all that substitution did was expose the Wallabies’ soft defence in the wide channels.

With his first touch, Pollock beat three Wallabies and made 25 easy metres, even though he had originally overrun his support line. Pollock then picked up two tries in the second half, rubbing the salt in the Wallabies’ wounds with his trademark try celebrations. The Wallabies have been poor defensively out wide in the past three channels, but still can’t find any room for a noted hard hitter such as Dylan Pietsch.

3. All Blacks’ win gives Wallabies a Scotland blueprint

Scotland No.10 Finn Russell endured an error-strewn Test against the All Blacks, but the Kiwis’ 43-21 win in Edinburgh was more evidence of their continued improvement under Dave Rennie. The All Blacks weren’t at their best following the sudden death of their head of security at an Edinburgh hotel earlier in the week, but they turned on their scrum power to shut down any hopes of a Scotland upset.

After the All Blacks’ attacking fireworks against the Wallabies in Sydney, this was a pivot to the sort of pragmatic rugby that wins Tests in the northern hemisphere – the type of performance that looked beyond the All Blacks under Scott Robertson last year. Scotland’s scrum woes should also interest the Wallabies, who face Scotland at Murrayfield next weekend.

It was one-way traffic at the set-piece, and the All Blacks even managed to win one scrum penalty with two of their loose forwards in the sin bin. Scotland’s attacking prowess was evident at times, but the Wallabies scrum has been effective this year and there is a chance to attack an apparent Scottish vulnerability. The Wallabies’ scrum held its own against England in one of the rare bright spots at Twickenham.

4. Jake-ball might limit Fiji appeal to Nawaqanitawase

Fiji were always going to be up against it against France, but they were still dreadfully uninspiring during their 54-17 loss in Lyon. They kicked more than France and lacked dynamism, and if this is what they are going to serve up under new coach Jake White then Mark Nawaqanitawase would be well advised to consider a possible change of allegiance very carefully.

Of course, there is an emotional aspect to his decision, but he’ll also want to play for the team that gives him the best chance of progress at the Rugby World Cup. Fiji’s decision to take three points when they were trailing 12-0 in the 24th minute was decidedly un-Fijian, and that lack of ambition was evident throughout the Test.

White’s appointment was a curious one and Fiji didn’t ever look like breaking the shackles on attack and taking the Test to an injury-hit French side. They looked like a shadow of the Fiji side that really should have beaten the Wallabies in 2025 prior to the British and Lions tour, and it makes you wonder why on earth they removed Australian coach Mick Byrne in the first place.

5. Ireland are the big improvers from July

It has been a tough year for Argentina so far – just one win from seven Tests after they were beaten 42-12 by Ireland in Dublin. But while Los Pumas appear to be stuck in a rut, the Irish showed enormous improvement from their July series.

Although Ireland beat the Wallabies in Sydney, they were very scratchy in their victory against Japan in Newcastle and well beaten by the All Blacks at Eden Park. However, they looked noticeably fitter as they scored six tries against Argentina, with No.10 Sam Prendergast showing genuine speed to score a fine individual try. They were also all over the Argentinian lineout like a rash in a performance that had a real energy to it.

France are still favourites to finish top of the Northern Hemisphere table after beating an uninspiring, kick-heavy Fiji side, but they lost No.10 Romain Ntamack to a dislocated shoulder and their hopes of beating South Africa next weekend look slim.

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