SYDNEY – Former Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock said “the worst thing” that Rugby Australia can do is sack their embattled coach Eddie Jones, as the backlash rumbled on amid the team’s poor World Cup campaign.

The two-time champions are on the verge of being knocked out in the pool stage of a Rugby World Cup for the first time after being routed 40-6 by Wales on Sunday, which followed a shock 22-15 loss to Fiji.

Jones was appointed coach in January and Australia have lost seven of their eight games since.

The Pool C hammering by the Welsh saw the Wallabies drop to their all-time lowest ranking of 10th in the world, and the coach also faced heavy criticism in the aftermath of the defeat.

Mortlock described Sunday’s loss as a “train wreck”, but urged rugby chiefs to back his former coach Jones to take the young Australian squad through to the next World Cup, which they will host in 2027.

“The worst thing that Australia could do is suddenly get rid of him and say ‘No, you’re not the best man for the job’ only after six months or whatever it has been. Back your man – you picked him for a reason,” he told the BBC’s Rugby Union Daily podcast.

“It was all about building for an amazing runway in the next four years,” Mortlock added, with Australia hosting the British and Irish Lions in 2025, before their home World Cup two years later.

Following the defeat by Wales in Lyon, Jones apologised for the result but denied Australian media reports claiming he had been interviewed by Japan Rugby Football Union about coaching their team after the World Cup.

He has also been criticised, in particular, for bringing a young and inexperienced Wallabies squad to France, but Mortlock felt otherwise.

“He rolled the dice with youth for this World Cup campaign. I actually respect that,” added the 46-year-old, who played 80 Tests for Australia, 29 as captain.

“At the time, I was like, ‘This is amazing, he’s really having a crack here’. But the flip side is, it doesn’t work quickly, which it normally doesn’t with young players. You need time to play together to build up combinations and cohesion.”

Mortlock did, however, say that he felt for the players and their travelling fans as Wales dominated the second half, echoing the thoughts of former New Zealand international and Stan Sport pundit Sonny Bill Williams.

“It was sort of like a train wreck. After 50 minutes, it was one-way traffic,” he said.

The former skipper was not the only one who backed Jones.

Current captain Will Skelton also felt that the 63-year-old is still the man to revive Australian rugby as the nation started coming to terms with its much-reduced status in the world game.

Skelton, who has missed Australia’s last two games with a calf injury, added that the players are supporting the Australian 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 said.

“The way he is around the group, you see in the media he has his persona but, when you see him one-to-one, in front of the team, how he speaks, how he directs, the boys follow him and I do as well.

“He is a fantastic coach with a massive rugby IQ. We’re learning every day when we’re working with him. It’s one of those things, he simplifies the game of rugby for us.”

The Wallabies still have a slim chance of making the quarter-finals but relying on Fiji slipping up in one of their remaining matches is a humiliation for many Australians, who remember when they ruled the world in 1991 and 1999.

They would also need to win their remaining match against Portugal in Saint-Etienne on Sunday. AFP, REUTERS