![\"Tane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/dc846c7c678fd9aecd60e54f79572465df91f204.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBarring a John Farnham-style comeback, Slipper won\u2019t be there, but the veteran of four World Cups and 21 Test appearances at the game\u2019s centrepiece event believes the blueprint for success is clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of the fundamentals, we\u2019re on the right track,\u201d Slipper said. \u201cThings like looking after the ball, your breakdown, your set-piece \u2026 I feel like we\u2019re very consistent at delivering that more consistently.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019d say the thing to work on is our ability to handle big pressure moments. We saw [on Saturday night] we score a try and then it gets taken off us. Then Hoops [Tom Hooper] gets sent off (with a yellow card) and we lost Skelts [Will Skelton] in the same play. Instead of having a try, we\u2019ve lost a try and lost two players. It was a big moment in the game where I think the team could handle things better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they do that, they\u2019ll be on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slipper says this is one of the tightest Wallabies groups he has played in. He knows it\u2019s a comment that often gets thrown around but he assures he truly means it.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s 14-point defeat was the Wallabies\u2019 biggest loss this year, highlighting the ability of Joe Schmidt\u2019s side to limit the bad blowouts of years gone by.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a genuine want to get better in this group,\u201d Slipper said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got the players, I think we\u2019ve got the staff, and I think we\u2019ve got the game that can push forward and compete with the top four in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cHandling pressure, the big moments, and then keeping all their fundamentals really strong will be the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a long way to go and the Wallabies know it. But, for all the optimism, reality bites.<\/p>\n
Australia did not win the Lions series, Bledisloe Cup or Rugby Championship, and four wins from 10 Tests this year is not the kind of form guide that screams World Cup contenders.<\/p>\n
The critics will continue to line up if the Wallabies don\u2019t have success on their spring tour. If Australia can\u2019t secure a top six world rankings, their path through the knockout stages of the tournament will be a difficult.<\/p>\n
Shortly after full-time, former Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper gave a blunt assessment of five-eighth Tane Edmed\u2019s performance in his second start at Test level.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tane Edmed passes the ball in Perth.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he should be on a Test match pitch if I\u2019m honest,\u201d Cooper wrote on X, while saying he wants to see Carter Gordon back in Australian rugby.<\/p>\n
Cooper added: \u201cTheir game needs work \u2026 their system is non-existent, which puts you in bad positions, which creates chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmed, who has shown flashes of promise, knows that improvement is needed.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
Schmidt praised Edmed post-match, but Australia\u2019s No.10 conundrum remains unsolved two years out from a World Cup, with Edmed, James O\u2019Connor, Tom Lynagh, Ben Donaldson and the injured Noah Lolesio all vying for the jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve kind of learned that I would rather come off playing and trying to take opportunities than being in my shell and just drifting through the game,\u201d Edmed said before Cooper\u2019s comments on social media emerged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still a little bit disappointed with a few of those errors [I made], especially the one before half-time where the kick out on the full lead to a try.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the sort of stuff in Test match footy you kind of can\u2019t afford to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barring a John Farnham-style comeback, Slipper won\u2019t be there, but the veteran of four World Cups and 21…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-190845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}