Australian rugby has plunged to unprecedented depths after the Wallabies concluded their disastrous European campaign with a crushing 48-33 defeat against France in Paris, piling immense pressure on embattled coach Joe Schmidt.
Historic Losing Streak Confirmed
Despite showing significant improvement after disappointing performances against England, Italy and Ireland, the Wallabies have completed their first winless four-Test spring tour since 1958. The situation grew even more dire as Schmidt's squad became the first Australian team to lose 10 Tests in a single calendar year, sending the New Zealand mentor's winning percentage plummeting below 40 percent.
The early-season victories that once promised revival - including a dead-rubber win against the British and Irish Lions and a breakthrough victory over world champions South Africa on the high veldt - now seem like distant memories from another era.
Coaching Crisis Deepens
With Les Kiss already contracted to replace Schmidt after the inaugural Nations Championship next July, the Queensland Reds coach has barely twelve months to prepare the Wallabies for the crucial 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil. However, demands for Schmidt's immediate resignation are growing louder after his winning strike rate fell to 39 percent, marking the second-worst performance by a Wallabies coach overseeing 20 Tests or more in nearly six decades.
Only Dave Rennie's 36 percent return ranks lower, and Rugby Australia promptly dismissed him following an equally dismal 2022 spring tour.
Schmidt appealed to long-suffering Wallabies supporters to maintain faith in the team. "We're disappointed we didn't finish with the victory that I know you would have all loved to see, but the players have made a heck of an effort," he told Stan Sport. "There's 15 Tests in 22 weeks with the amount of travel I've had. I just admire the way they have dusted themselves off and gone again."
Promising Performance Overshadowed by Defeat
The disappointing statistics obscure what was actually an encouraging turnaround performance from the Wallabies at Stade de France. After reaching halftime locked at 19-19, the determined visitors - powered by outstanding efforts from their forward pack - genuinely threatened to upset the reigning European champions.
Props Taniela Tupou and Angus Bell, along with two-try hooker Matt Faessler, delivered monumental performances, while skipper Harry Wilson provided his customary inspirational leadership.
Unfortunately, the Wallabies once again demonstrated they remain essentially a 60-minute team as Les Bleus, electrified by brilliant winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, surged to a match-winning 16-point advantage during the closing stages.
Determined to avoid an unwanted place in the history books, the Wallabies began explosively, with Wilson sending Bell on a thunderous run that immediately put the French defence under pressure. Faessler capitalised with a pick-and-drive effort that gave Australia an early 5-0 lead.
World player of the year nominee Bielle-Biarrey responded by setting up centre Nicolas Depoortere minutes later during a characteristically lethal French counter-attack. Bell restored Australia's advantage at 12-7 with a barnstorming 30-metre runaway try after Jake Gordon's quick tap caught the French defence retreating.
Fullback Thomas Ramos equalised before a spectacular chip-chase try handed France a 19-12 lead. Faessler's second try, originating from a driving maul after French scrumhalf Maxim Lucu received a yellow card, levelled the scores at halftime.
Depoortere's second try and a Ramos penalty pushed France to a 27-19 advantage before classy winger Max Jorgensen produced a magical individual try that narrowed the deficit to just one point. That represented the closest the Wallabies would come as additional tries from Bielle-Biarrey and hookers Julien Marchand and Maxime Lamothe - combined with 10 second-half penalties - extinguished Australian hopes completely.
The Wallabies needed to win by 16 points to secure a crucial top-six seeding for next month's 2027 World Cup draw. Instead, the 15-point defeat leaves the tournament hosts facing a potential sudden-death round-of-16 encounter against global heavyweights like South Africa, New Zealand, France, Ireland or England.
