The momentum behind the Wallabies took some big hits with back-to-back onside kicks All black people.
The previous six game unbeaten run had made the Wallaby faithful and even some pundits wrongly declared “this was Bledisloe’s best chance to come back in years”.
The losses and margins of those losses were not only possible, but likely, due to factors known in advance and late injury/suspension issues.
Let’s not tiptoe around the lessons; they are in black and white, and now we have seen them in the open.
First, the sixth-placed Wallabies cannot contend with a packed top three side in the world outside of the World Rugby-9 regulation.
Second, the Wallabies must pick one of their experienced number 10s for November.
Third, the Wallabies’ depth in the ground remains precariously shallow in midfield.
Fourth, the gap between the top four sides in the world and the rest of the top 10 sides is wide, and that should give Wallaby fans plenty of confidence ahead of November.
This first lesson is a must see Rugby Australia cultivate better relationships with the overseas clubs where some of their stars play, because the Wallabies cannot afford to be without their best talent.
This relationship-building must start now, because if the Wallabies are to be a genuine bid to reclaim Bledisloe in 2027, coach Les Kiss must be able to call on all his international troops starting in April.
Bledisloe’s ANZAC weekend is outside the Regulation-9 window, and it will be the first test of its kind in the middle Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Rugby Australia must do everything possible to secure the release of France players Will Skelton, Taniela Tupou and Langi Gleeson, as well as England’s Tom Hooper and Japan’s Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jordan Petaia, Hunter Paisami and Samu Kerevi. Provided they are all fit and committed to the Wallabies.
They are eight key forwards and impressive defenders; all are limited and experienced players who add true game-changing skill sets and quality.
None of these players took the field in this year’s Bledisloe Cup, and RA, like Kiss, have known all year that all but Paisami would be unavailable.
Allowing games against top teams like the All Blacks to be scheduled outside of Regulation-9 is not a luxury the sixth-placed Wallabies can afford. Period.
Although the Greatest Rivalry Tour seriously rocked the Wallabies and Argentina both financially and through the calendar, RA needs to bring back some board wins in 2027 and beyond.
If the RAs and Super Rugby franchises are not going to cough up more cash to keep or bring these players back to Australian shores, then they need to cultivate better relationships with overseas clubs.
Now we see what the Wallabies side of homegrown players looks like, which can be seen another way as an example of RA’s ‘homegrown first’ player selection policy.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too; you can’t build depth overnight; you can’t pick home first while having most of your best match 23 overseas.
You certainly can’t schedule matches knowing you’ll have your hands tied by long-established World Rugby regulations and then act surprised why the team is batting in back-to-back weeks against the second-best team in the world.
The Wallabies are much better than the last two games suggest, but to be honest, the Wallabies can’t afford to give up on the overseas talent, nor the talent and experience they have domestically.
This brings us to the second lesson, which is that an experienced fly-half must be drawn from the domestic or international pool for November’s Nations series.
It’s not because Declan Meredith or Harry McLaughlin-Phillips played poorly at the weekend in Sydney; this is because they are still learning how to play Test standard.
It’s clear that despite both showing good turns of pace, grit and a knack for throwing a few of their teammates into space, they lacked the one Test-level skill that really counts as a fly-half: winning the territorial battle.
In Sydney, the territory was 56%-44% in favor of the Wallabies, and the possession was also 54%-46% of the home team, but watching the game a couple of times, it is clear that the Wallabies once again outplayed both sides in the half of the field, only kicking 14 times in total.
This is where the experienced fly half kicks the ball to turn the opposition around, change the defensive picture and ensure the play is played in the opposition half.
There are unverified reports of extremely high playing time on Saturday, but it is now very apparent that the Wallabies are not doing well in these conditions.
The Wallabies are unlike any other side in the world; they, of course, want a quick ball when in possession, but ultimately they do best in short bursts, using their power play.
That’s the kind of list they have and the selections made by their coaches.
The Wallabies conceded most of their tries to the All Blacks after 10 phases, but meanwhile scored most of their points with fewer phases.
Knowing that, the Wallabies need to give the edge to the territory, and it doesn’t just have to be through the tacklers, although that is the deadliest way to attack the kick.
Veteran fly-half James O’Connor, Kurtley Beale and Bernard Foley are all based in Australia and there’s no arguing they couldn’t prepare ahead of the November tour.
They were signed for months and could train the entire time; there is no excuse or reason that justifies not selecting one of these players who definitely know the value of the shooting game and how to execute it.
While first choice flyhalf Carter Gordon should be capable of Nations Championship in November, and so will second choice Ben Donaldson, that third flyhalf spot should go to one of the veterans.
It builds continuity if you need to rely on one of them in 2027, and allows player-to-player training to improve Donno and Carts faster.
If the ‘too old’ label is a problem for RA, they have Noah Lolesio Japan whom they can recall.
Lolesio has 30 Wallaby caps to his name and was coached by Stephen Larkham at the Brumbies; he definitely understands the importance of field position.
It has been peripherally suggested that the Wallabies know what these four players offer, but cohesion, continuity and understanding of the game plan are all factors that suggest these players need to be immersed in the Wallabies environment under Kiss well ahead of the RWC.
The third lesson is actually more about contracting, not just depth.
Hunter Paisami is apparently one of Coach Kiss’ favorite players, yet he was allowed to go overseas.
With Paisami heading to Japan and Kerevi already there, the Wallabies are now left with Len Ikitau and Isaac Henry as their home-grown centres.
Although Angus Crichton will be on Waratahs In 2027, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has played most of his games in the 13 position, it is now clear that Suaalii is better suited on the wing and there is no guarantee that Crichton will succeed in the 15 man code.
There are no ready-made replacements in the country for either Ikitau or Henry in a World Cup year, and you just have to scratch your head.
Going forward, with this kind of selection policy, more must be done to keep players like Paisami on the mainland if there are no other obvious options.
One last lesson, and this will give Wallabies fans something to be happy about: their games are only going to get easier from here.
With such a wide gap between the top four teams and the remaining top 10 sides, the Wallabies should be confident they can make it four wins from their final four matches of the year.
In the championship, the Wallabies nation will first play against fifth-placed England, then seventh-placed Scotland, and then eleventh-placed Wales.
After all is said and done, the Wallabies will probably play as well Scotland or England once again on the final weekend of the Nations Championship at Twickenham Stadium.
The Wallabies lost to the third-placed team Ireland by three points, defeated by fourth-placed France, beat first-placed South Africa, and defeated by the second-placed All Blacks.
More positive and louder victories came against eighth-ranked Argentina, ninth-ranked Japan and twelfth-ranked Italy.
With the Nations Championship being in Regulation-9, the Wallabies will be reinforced and cohesive, as this will be the end of their season.
The Wallabies have an advanced pack to gain dominance in both freedom and set time against the three home nations and a cobbled backline that broke the All Blacks defense 17 times, beating 31 defenders.
The Wallabies have the best line-up in the world at the moment, both in attack and defence, and their scrum is rock solid.
The Wallabies will know some of their wins in 2026 will have an asterisk next to them as teams are missing many first-choice players but can only beat the opposition in front of them.
Despite the latest results against the All Blacks, the Wallabies have improved and are improving under Kiss and his new group of coaches.
There is nothing that is England, Scotland or Wales they are doing better than any opposition the Wallabies have faced before.
The Wallabies are primed, if a logical selection is made, to storm the home nations and climb the world rugby rankings as well as the Nations Championship rankings.