Michael Cheika has accused his labouring Wallabies of being off the pace after suffering a humbling 24-19 Test loss to a resurgent Scotland.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika Photo: Photosport
A shellshocked 31 thousand fans were on hand to watch Scotland exact sweet revenge for two heartbreaking one-point losses to Australia in the past two years with a stirring victory in Sydney.
Five years after a shock 9-6 loss to Scotland in Newcastle, Israel Folau's second tryscoring double in as many weeks couldn't save the Wallabies from another sapping home defeat at the hands of world rugby's big improvers.
Set to surge to fourth in the rankings behind only New Zealand, England and Australia, the Scots cashed in on a disjointed display from the Wallabies, with a frustrated Cheika forecasting changes for next Saturday's clash with Italy in Brisbane.
Pulling no strings, the coach made it clear he wanted players more willing to put their bodies on the line, saying he felt for skipper Michael Hooper, who lacked teammates with the same passion and energy in the gold jumper.
Cheika singled out Folau and Australia's newest dual international Karmichael Hunt as standout performers in an otherwise forgettable performance from the Wallabies.
"It's really about being more urgent to the game, willing the game more. You've got to make it happen because it's not just going to happen for you," Cheika said.
"You've got to have guys with that attitude."
As playmaker Bernard Foley admitted, the Wallabies were their own worst enemies during a dreadful first half.
They trailed 17-12 at the break, gifting the Scots all of their points through an early penalty goal, then an intercept try to centre Duncan Taylor and a charge-down effort from goalkicking five-eighth Finn Russell.
Only Folau's two strikes - one from a long ball from Foley and the second when the fullback soared spectacularly to reel in Foley's pinpoint crossfield kick - kept the Wallabies in the contest.
But despite being a man down with No.8 Ryan Wilson yellow-carded a minute before halftime, the Scots refused to yield during a tense second half.
Three minutes after Will Genia half atoned for handing the Scots their two first-half tries - with a wayward pass and charged down kick - by putting the Wallabies in the lead with a five-pointer of his own, the Scots were in again to regain control.
The Wallabies had numerous opportunities at the death but were unable to find a reply to give Foley another chance to break Scottish hearts.
Last-gasp penalty goals from Foley had denied the Scots at the 2015 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham and again on the Wallabies' spring tour last November.
"We made so many breaks. We didn't have enough guys there to will the ball over the line," Cheika said.
"That's something that we've got to get sorted out because otherwise we'll always be in these battles when we maybe shouldn't be.
"We should be scoring two or three more tries and keeping the opposition down two or three, or one or two more.
"There wasn't a huge amount of dropped balls, or we didn't have a lot of missed tackles or anything like that.
"But in some of the key moments, you need to have that focus of like 'I'm going to step up and make this happen'."
-AAP
