Eddie Jones accepts that Australia are “under the pump” as they prepare for a make-or-break Rugby World Cup clash against Wales.
A first pool stage exit in World Cup history will loom for the Wallabies if they fail to beat Warren Gatland’s team in Lyon on Sunday.
In contrast, Wales are sitting pretty, top of the group with a maximum 10 points from two games and moving towards a fourth successive World Cup quarter-final appearance.
And while the Welsh go about business back at their Versailles training base, Jones and his coaching staff are picking through the pieces of a first loss to Fiji since 1954.
“We are moving on to Wales now,” said Australia head coach Jones, whose side were beaten 22-15 by the Pacific nation in Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
“These are the weeks you remember when you are under the pump quite a lot and you have got to produce a good performance.
“We are starting to set our sights on how we need to play against Wales. The only thing we are worried about is Wales this week.
“We would be happy to play them tomorrow if they wanted to play. We would get the television (coverage) organised. We can’t wait for the challenge.”
Wales have beaten Australia in three of the countries’ last four meetings, and they will tackle a team reeling from a loss that has left them teetering on the brink.
Australia will also be without injured key forwards Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton, increasing their degree of difficulty in a game of inevitably intense pressure.
Jones added: “There are no problems with motivation. This team cares a lot about their performance.
“We are all still searching for answers. None of us has the 100 per cent answer, but we have ideas about where the game came unstuck.
“Wales are a completely different team. They grind away at you, whereas Fiji is power.
“This is one of the biggest challenges for this team and for the coaching staff. We know how we want to play against Wales and we are going to work really hard to get the players back on track.
“When you have a loss like this, it knocks you around a bit. It knocks you emotionally and team-ethics wise. You start seeing shadows in every corner of the room.
“There is noise from outside which you have to handle. That is the challenge for the coaching staff this week, to make sure they have got the right noise.”
Wales are back at their training base, with only flanker Tommy Reffell and prop Henry Thomas among Gatland’s squad likely to need fitness assessments.
Reffell pulled out of Wales’ clash against Portugal just before kick-off in Nice due to a tight calf muscle, while Thomas has played no part in the tournament so far because of a hamstring issue.
Gatland said: “People had an opportunity to put their hand up (against Portugal), so we will review that and see which guys did perform well.
“I thought Rio Dyer looked sharp on the wing, and I was really happy with his aerial stuff. Probably the lineout didn’t function as well as I would have liked, and we were a bit lateral at times.
“But when we were direct and in contact we looked comfortable.”
Townsend sure Scotland have more to show after superb win over Australia
Gregor Townsend insists Scotland can still play better despite ending their 2024 calendar on the high of an impressive 27-13 win over Australia at Murrayfield.
Finn Russell surpassed 400 Test points after scoring one of four Scotland tries and kicking seven points in a game where Scotland led by 21 points at one stage.
Head coach Townsend was delighted to send supporters home happy but was not happy with all aspects of his side's performance on Sunday.
"If you catch me in 10 minutes I'll be in a better mood. There was more in us. We weren't as accurate in the first half," he told BBC Sport.
"It shows we can get a win when we're not playing as well. There were moments in the game that I loved. We saw what it meant to our supporters to get a win against a quality team.
"We're better than some of the aspects today, but I'm proud that the players found a way to win.
"I'm inwardly happy, but if there was a game next week it would be a tough review and there would be a lot of things to improve."
Captain Sione Tuipulotu crossed in the first half for Scotland, who led 7-3 at the break after Noah Lolesio's had put Australia in front.
The hosts took command after the break with Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Russell going over in the second half.
Wing wizard Harry Potter scored on his Australia debut to add some credit to the scoreline for the visitors and Scotland showed great defensive resolve after that to ensure no more points were conceded.
Skipper Tuipulotu collected the Hopetoun Cup in front of his grandmother and said: "It was an amazing moment. When she handed over the cup she said 'you got 'em!'
"I'm super happy and it makes the day all worthwhile, when we win like that. We won playing our rugby, we scored some brilliant tries. We know how dangerous our back three is but it was a group effort today and that's what I'm most pleased about."
Robertson makes overseas players plea after New Zealand labour versus Italy
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has said he wants to see overseas-based players become eligible for the All Blacks after his side laboured to a 29-11 win over Italy.
The visitors recorded their 18th straight win against Italy to wrap up their autumn series, but Robertson's side were made to work for the victory in Turin in flanker Sam Cane's final Test for the team, ahead of his switch to play club rugby in Japan.
Speaking after the game, Robertson said he would ask New Zealand Rugby to follow in the footsteps of world champions South Africa and allow those playing outside domestic competitions to be eligible for the national team.
"We don't want to be a cycle behind or a couple of years behind," Robertson said.
"Professional rugby is always evolving. Let's keep an open mind and see what's next. I'll definitely be presenting.
"Using South Africa as an example, they get the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed well into their 30s so they've got a great balance.
"And they've got big squads, they can have two really quality 15s."
Gatland future up in the air after Wales suffer 12th consecutive loss
Wales head coach Warren Gatland did not have answers about his future following their 45-12 defeat to South Africa, their 12th consecutive loss.
The Springboks dominated from the off and were cruising 26-0 just before half-time, after Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Elrigh Louw crossed.
Rio Dyer's try before the break ensured Wales did not draw a blank in the first half, but South Africa did not let up as Aphelele Fassi, Gerhard Steenenkamp and Jordan Hendrikse all followed suit.
James Botham's late effort ensured Wales did not suffer their worst-ever home defeat, but they have now gone an entire calendar year without a win for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has come under increasing pressure as the losses pile up, and though his future remains up in the air, he was proud of how his inexperienced side held up against the world champions.
"It's about seeing what the Welsh Rugby Union has to say," he told TNT Sports when asked about his future.
"You don't make a decision straight after a game, it's always tough coming to a press conference straight after a game before you've had time to catch your breath and look at some of the stats and numbers.
"Let's just see what happens over the next few days."
On their recent run of form, he added: "We punched massively above our weight for a number of years, and we've been saying that when the dam bursts it's going to take a little bit of time to put things right.
"The dam has burst, but it's about making sure that, collectively, with the regions we work together.
"I think we need to be in better shape in a conditioning point of view. We will work on that with some of the players over the next couple of months, so when they turn up for the Six Nations, they're ready to go from day one."
South Africa have won each of their last three Tests, building on their wins over Scotland and England earlier in the series.
Captain Siya Kolisi was pleased with their ruthlessness in the game but also sympathised with Gatland's situation.
"It's been a really good tour," he told TNT Sports. "It hasn't been perfect, the first two games we weren't happy - happy we won, but there was so much we could have done better.
"The results are important, but it's how you do things, the standards we set for ourselves. We know we can do a little bit better as a group.
"We were where Wales are a couple of years ago.
"The only thing I can say is you just can't stop believing. If you look at their starting backline, one of our guys had more caps than all of them. You have to be realistic about these things."
Elsewhere, Ireland produced their most convincing win of their series, scoring eight tries as they cruised past Fiji 52-17 in Dublin earlier on Saturday.
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