Australia's players head into Saturday’s Test against Ireland with the future of their head coach weighing on their minds.
Dave Rennie finds himself under mounting pressure after a disastrous six months where the Wallabies have lost eight out 12 Tests, including a record reverse against Argentina and last weekend's first-ever defeat to Italy.
Since taking charge of the Wallabies in 2020, Rennie has a win rate of 37%, and their shock loss in Florence saw them drop to ninth in the world rankings.
The New Zealander’s contract expires after next year’s Rugby World Cup but his future is the subject of increased speculation back in Australia ahead of next month’s end-of-season review.
"We don’t have our heads buried in the sand, I understand the pressure that’s come on," said Australia scrum-half Nic White.
"It’s disappointing as a playing group, letting him down, and that he’s got this sort of pressure because we absolutely love being coached by Dave. He is a phenomenal coach, I’ve said it a number of times now that our coaching staff is world class and that we as a playing group aren’t there yet.
"A lot of the pressure that’s coming his and the coaching staff’s way is a whole lot to do with what we put out on the field and a lot of moments we could have controlled as players.
"We need to step it up as a group and this week is a chance to show how much we care for Dave and the coaching staff. We are speaking about putting out a performance for him and the staff."
One area that requires drastic improvement is Australia's discipline. They have conceded 42 penalties in their first three autumn Tests, including 16 against Italy, and collected 12 yellow cards in 2022, the most of any tier-one nation.
Ireland were penalised 10 times in both November victories against South Africa and Fiji and White knows they cannot afford to gift their hosts territory through indiscipline.
"Sometimes it’s easy to be really disciplined when there’s not a whole lot of pressure on the side, you don’t feel desperate to make a difference and look for a quick fix," he said.
"We’ve seen a lot of penalties come from good intentions, guys trying to get off the line really quickly. They’re trying to make a difference in breakdowns but maybe going a bit too far. We’ve just spoke about trusting the system a little bit more.
"We were heading in the right direction and probably took a step back on the weekend. It’s just about going back to a good performance, like in France where we had a really good gameplan and discipline within that. We’re going to need to be exactly like that this week.
"Ireland are going to have plenty of big moments in the game and in those you’ve got to lean on your discipline."
Australia have lost four of their last five Tests against Ireland and White’s half-back partner Bernard Foley said they are striving to match the consistency shown by Andy Farrell’s side.
"World rugby is highly competitive at the moment and they’re sitting at the top," said Foley. "We’ve played some great sides this year and a lot of those games have gone down to the wire.
"Ireland have been the benchmark for consistency for a number of years, that’s probably why they’re No 1. It’s a great challenge for us as a team.
"We’re searching for that consistency, being able to put out performances week after week, and this is a team that has done that well for a number of years. They’re going to be an incredibly difficult challenge."
Foley is also looking forward to coming up against Johnny Sexton once again, should the Ireland captain shake off a dead leg. The pair have been the starting out-halves in four of the last five meetings between the teams, with Ireland winning on each occasion.
"It shows that age is just a number," said Foley of Sexton. "The thing about Johnny is he’s ultra-competitive. He must be doing everything right to keep on the top of his game.
"He looks after his body, he still has world-class game management and skills. To see him doing it is great and I’m looking forward to the challenge."
Follow a live blog of Ireland v Australia on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app this Saturday from 8pm with live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
