Joe Schmidt wants Wallabies' 'house in order' before exit

Rookie flyhalf Declan Meredith wants another crack as Joe Schmidt attempts to avoid some unwanted Wallabies history in his final game as coach.

The Wallabies sunk to a sixth-straight loss and ninth in ten Tests in Brisbane on Saturday, beaten 42-26 by France despite leading the back-to-back Six Nations champions 21-12 at halftime.

The wheels came off in a seven-minute stint that yielded three tries when fullback Tom Wright, who impressed in his return to the starting side, in the sin bin for a professional foul.

Meredith, the 27-year-old debutant in the No.10, couldn’t negotiate any peace for his side as opposite number Romain Ntamack and brilliant fullback Matthieu Jalibert steamrolled the hosts.

The loss dropped Schmidt’s winning percentage to 36.66 ahead of his final game in charge, against Italy in Perth next Saturday.

He needs a victory to jump slightly above Dave Rennie (38.2 per cent) and avoid finishing with the worst win-loss ratio among Wallabies coaches. It currently sits at 11 wins, 19 losses.

Australia coughed up a 12-point lead in a 33-31 loss to world No.3 Ireland last weekend in Sydney.

The side’s only victory in their last 10 Tests came against Japan.

Schmidt took over from Eddie Jones with the program in shambles after the Wallabies’ historic early exit at the 2023 World Cup.

He was convinced to stay in the role for these three Tests before Les Kiss – he observed operations without direct involvement this week – who was coaching the Queensland Reds this season, takes over next month.

“My time’s nearly finished and I just want to leave the house in good order,” he said.

“It’s hard at the moment to rationalise the positives and I know there were some.”

He insists the belief remains internally and that he can feel it externally after back-to-back sell-outs in Brisbane and Sydney.

“But to galvanise that we have to get results and I feel that acutely,” he said.

“You don’t take jobs on like this to come second. Internally I’m incredibly competitive and just want these guys to get a little bit of reward.”

Schmidt pointed to the side’s high turnover of No.10s – they have tried seven in the last 17 Tests, mostly due to injury – as a disruption that has contributed to their poor results.

“When things don’t go our way we’ve got to get some traction and part of that is around experience,” he said.

Meredith was propelled into a debut after Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson both suffered calf injuries against Ireland.

That double blow also forced Schmidt to use fullback Jock Campbell in the unfamiliar role of reserve playmaker.

Donaldson could prove his fitness to face Italy but Schmidt is likely to call on a specialist flyhalf as reinforcement.

Veteran No.10 Bernard Foley is in the wings as he pursues a return to the NSW Waratahs next season after a stint in Japan.

Meredith is confident the side has the cattle though and wants another shot.

“If I get another opportunity I’d want to deliver more,” he said.

“That’s everyone’s kind of feeling in the change room, after a game like that, to come back and provide a bigger exclamation mark.”

The speedy talent out of Cairns, who grafted for years in Canberra before seizing his chance at the Brumbies this year, misread a defensive play in the first half that led to a try and was unable to win back any momentum once the French got a footing.

“They put you to the wire when they have momentum; you learn that in Tests, momentum is everything in a game and it’s hard to win back,” Meredith said.

“Definitely a few lessons learnt, but keen to get back on the horse.”