Eddie Jones

Their 40-6 loss to Wales in Pool C not only pushed the Wallabies to the brink of elimination from the World Cup, it also resulted in another drop down the rankings ladder to an unprecedented low of 10th in the world.

Jones has taken most of the flak for the calamitous campaign but Skelton, who has missed Australia's last two games with a calf injury, said the players still backed him to turn things around in the long term.

"I think his long-term vision and what he wants Australian rugby to be back to, I think that's a positive," the lock told reporters.

The hopes and dreams of a sporting-mad nation came crashing down on Sunday evening as a fallen giant of the game succumbed to a devastating defeat.

Pending seemingly unfathomable results from Fiji, the Wallabies are set to bow out at the pool stage for the time in history while Wales have booked their spot in the quarter-finals.

This might be the darkest night in Australian rugby history. The sun will come up in the morning, but the pain and disappointment of a pool stage exit may never go away.

With a Rugby World Cup on French soil just a couple of weeks away, the Wallabies looked to rain on Les Bleus’ parade at Stade de France on Sunday.

Playing in front of a simply incredible crowd in northern Paris, the Wallabies controlled the territory battle during an exciting opening 40 – but couldn’t convert their attack pressure into points.

Young playmaker Carter Gordon missed a series of penalty attempts at goal, and Les Bleus made the Wallabies pay on the scoreboard. France put on a show and ran away with an emphatic 41-17 victory.

Jones named his World Cup squad in Darwin on August 10 but teams have until August 28 to submit their final, official lists of 33 players.

The Wallabies were crushed 41-17 by France on Monday (AEST) in their last Test before their World Cup opener against Georgia on September 10 (AEST).

"Knowing Eddie Jones and seeing some of his selections and the way that he does things, I would expect probably two to three changes," Mitchell said on Nine's Sports Sunday.

Playing in front of a relentlessly vocal crowd at Stade de France on Sunday, the Wallabies showed plenty of fight and character against a spirited Les Bleus outfit.

Australia deserves some praise for their efforts, sure, but the men in gold are still yet to register a win under coach Jones after falling to their fifth defeat in as many starts – losing 41-17.

Walking through the streets of Saint-Denis, and up into the stands at Stade de France, it was immediately apparent why this venue is one of the most famous in Test rugby.

The Wallabies head coach told Sky Sport’s The Breakdown on Sunday that Australian rugby had further league talent set to switch codes.

In March, Rugby Australia signed Joseph Suaalii from the NRL’s Sydney Roosters for a reported $1.5 million per year, starting at the end of the 2024 league season.

“Yeah, we've got about three or four that are ready to sign mate, big names," Jones said, with a grin.

Nine Fijians are part of the squad with four in the rehab and train on squad groups.

Jones has named a 34-player squad for the Rugby Championship which also includes Rob Valetini, Marika Koroibete, Suliasi Vunivalu and Mark Nawaqanitawase.

Samu Kerevi is in the rehab group with Langi Gleeson.

The train on squad have the likes of Filipo Daugunu, halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa and Serupepeli Uru.

Australia’s first Rugby Championship game is against South Africa at 3.05 am on the 9th of July.

The match was played at a ridiculous tempo from the off, with an onslaught of offloads and cross-field kicks from either side, which was what all spectators demanded given the players on show.

The pick of the tries was surely scored by Fiji and London Irish lock Api Ratuniyarawa, who finished off a team try with almost all of the star World XV back line, including Israel Folau and Semi Radradra, playing a part. But while locks were finishing free flowing attacks in this upside-down match, BaaBaas winger Adam Radwan was also on the end of a driving maul in the first-half as well.

Australia coach Eddie Jones is yet to finalise his staff or settle on his best squad but is convinced the Wallabies have more than enough time to transform themselves into World Cup winners by the time the tournament kicks off in France.

The Wallabies slumped to seventh in the rankings under former coach Dave Rennie but Jones said they could emulate South Africa, who became world champions for a third time at the 2019 tournament in Japan after years of struggle.

And that’s exactly what Woodward managed done in his Daily Mail column.

The 2003 Rugby World Cup took just two sentences to mention his former colleague and media-sparing partner. Woodward’s criticism of Jones has become a running gag for many, but the jokes seemed to have been lost coach turned pundit.