Pressure ramps up on Australia camp after shock loss to Italy

Despite signs that Wallabies rugby was turning a corner this year, with Test wins over the British & Irish Lions, Springboks and Argentina, they have struggled with consistency.

One of the biggest factors in their inability to maintain good form has been their discipline and it came back to bite them once again against Italy.

They were leading the game 12-19 before Joseph Suaalii was shown a yellow card in the 58th minute.

In his 10 minutes off the pitch, Italy scored two tries to take a lead which they did not reliquish even after the Wallabies had returned to 15 men.

The result leaves Australia in a tough position for the rest of their tour needing wins over France and Ireland to ensure they can grab a top-six seeding for the next Rugby World Cup, which is to be hosted in Australia in 2027.

"I'm pretty gutted, to be honest," Schmidt told the press after the defeat to Italy. "I said progress isn't linear, but that was a flat performance. That's a dip we can't afford to have.

"We'll have a look at some of those penalties. Some of them we definitely have to sort out," Schmidt said.

"The yellow card, Joseph has to go lower. He can't afford to tackle up around [high]. Even though the player is dropping, you can't take that risk. You've got to go low, so some of those penalties are definitely on us.

"This low right now is tough, and what I would say to the players is one of the best things about the tour is that they do have a chance to turn things around next week.

"All I can say to people is that we believe in what we can deliver. Don't lose faith because we will guarantee to keep working as hard as we can to try to demonstrate what it means to us to try to be as competitive as possible."

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