Wallabies star Quade Cooper insists Australia are ready to bounce back after horror Rugby Championship thrashing against Springboks: ‘There’s a hell of a lot of lessons to learn’

Quade Cooper insists the Wallabies will not panic after being trounced by South Africa in the Rugby Championship opener on Saturday, but acknowledged there were a ‘hell of a lot of lessons’ to learn.

Eddie Jones’s first match in charge of his second stint coaching Australia was memorable for all the wrong reasons as the Wallabies dished up a dismal performance in 43-12 hammering at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The loss against the Springboks was a sobering reminder of the gap the Wallabies have to bridge to be among the challengers for the Rugby World Cup, which begins in France in September.

But Cooper, who made his return for Australia after suffering an Achilles injury last year, believes the team can only get better under Jones’ stewardship.

‘With every journey, it’s never smooth sailing. Under Eddie’s guidance, we will work towards that goal, which is to be World Cup champions,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Wallabies were comprehensively beaten by South Africa in Pretoria on Saturday

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‘Any loss is obviously a tough pill to swallow. There´s a hell of a lot of lessons in that game.

‘As a team, we haven’t had a lot of time together. It’s continuing to build our combinations the way we want to play and build belief and clarity in that.’

For his part, Jones has precious little time to turn things around, with the Wallabies set to host Argentina in Sydney on Saturday.

The debacle against South Africa was Jones’ first game in charge since he replaced Dave Rennie in January and Cooper admitted the players still needed to adjust to the new regime.

‘As a team, we haven’t had a lot of time together,’ he said.

‘It’s continuing to build our combinations the way we want to play and build belief and clarity in that.’ 

Argentina, who are coached by former Wallabies boss Michael Cheika, lost 41-12 at home to New Zealand on Saturday and Jones expects swift improvements from the Wallabies.

‘There is a game next week [against Argentina in Sydney] and we will be better,’ he said.

Jones admitted there were no excuses for how his side performed against the Springboks

‘It is a bad day at the office and we have to front up and play better than that.’

The 63-year-old, however, made no excuses for his side’s poor showing in Pretoria, 

‘We were outplayed everywhere, beaten in every department,’ he said.

‘Really disappointing but no excuses. We got a realistic appraisal of where we are as a team.’

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