#RugbyWorld #Cup2023 #Australianews
SAINT-ETIENNE Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has unenviable job of picking up pieces of Wallabies' historic failure at Rugby World Cup in France. Barring a miracle, Eddie Jones' team will become the first Australian team in 10 World Cups to fail to make it out of the pool stage. Former Wallabies captain Waugh spoke to Wide World of Sports about the accusations and Jones' future in the organisation. Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh at Allianz Stadium. WWOS First, what were your emotions during this record loss due to some fans leaving the stadium early? You are one of the most competitive Wallabies I have ever seen; How much did that hurt? Waugh Everyone was completely gutted. We are very disappointed and saddened by the way things turned out. But obviously losing to Fiji and then the way they performed and developed on Sunday night was really disappointing. It's absolutely heartbreaking to see people leaving the stadium early and the disappointment when talking to fans who had traveled so far. It was quite disappointing to let down so many Australians who put so much trust, faith and belief behind the team. READ 'Not addressed...' The elephant in the Wallabies' room READ Case for Super Rugby team being cut grows stronger READ Ex-captain backs Eddie as fans thirst for blood Australian Mark Nawaqanitawase watches. WWOS What were those conversations and interactions like with fans on tour? Waugh Just a huge disappointment and the question of how we got so off pace? The preparation process was not ideal in terms of winloss ratio, but in terms of performance we had a pretty good run heading into the World Cup. We had a narrow defeat against the All Blacks in Dunedin and had great momentum. We had a few critical injuries, but I thought the players played pretty well in the game against Georgia. I got bonus points, clinical and more disciplined work in stages. But things definitely went south against Fiji. Fiji played well. We were undisciplined, the penalty score was 18-7. There are very good margins at Test level in world rugby these days. If you're a little short you can get beaten badly and we've seen that happen in the last two weeks. WWOS Have you spoken to Eddie and the team since Wales? Waugh Yes, I spoke to both of them and we saw some pretty raw emotions immediately after the game. The boys were very upset about their performance and weight of wearing national jersey with coat of arms on chest. They were pretty disappointed with what they came up with there. The Federal Minister for Sports was also in the changing rooms. You represent your country and whether you win, lose or draw, we are all behind our national teams. Even though performances were not what we wanted them be, it is important to recognize that did everything they could and carried weight of country and all their supporters as took field. WWOS What can you tell us about your conversations with Eddie? He answered and said it was noth