Read and Jeremy Paul savage Wallabies' mental collapse in Bledisloe Cup defeats

Kieran Read and Jeremy Paul have delivered a damning verdict on the Wallabies following their Bledisloe Cup defeats, with the former All Blacks captain accusing Les Kiss’ side of failing to show up mentally when it mattered most.

Australia arrived at Accor Stadium in Sydney with genuine momentum — unbeaten through Kiss’ first five games in charge, including a notable win over the Springboks in Perth. But in front of a crowd of more than 73,000, the Wallabies squandered a series of early opportunities inside the All Blacks’ 22, and the game slipped away from them. Fullback Tom Wright struggled to provide the finishing touches in attack, while a lineout deep in New Zealand territory — with the All Blacks leading by only five points — was coughed up by Fraser McReight.

Read, speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Podcast, was unsparing in his assessment. “You’ve got a nation that’s jumping in behind you. You’ve got a massive crowd there that’s turning up,” he said. “If I was in the Wallabies team, Nathan Charles on the sideline. Come on, man! Like, you have to show a little bit more than that.”

The All Blacks centurion went further, questioning the side’s mental fortitude rather than their tactical approach. “That’s what I’m talking about: character, about ticker. They weren’t in it on Saturday. Mentally, they are off. I don’t know why, because all the things in that setup and lead-up to that game should have meant that they should have come out of the blocks. You got smacked, and you guys just gave up. You can have the best structure in the world, but unless you actually show up — which they just haven’t been showing up.”

Former Wallabies hooker Jeremy Paul echoed the sentiment, revealing he had switched off the broadcast before the final whistle — something he said he had not done in over a decade. “I didn’t leave the ground. I turned the TV off. Like I haven’t done that in over a decade,” Paul said. “This team — I love supporting this team — but we had the entire country behind you.”

The back-to-back defeats represent a significant blow to the momentum Kiss had built since taking charge, and raise fresh questions about whether Australia can translate promising early-series form into results when the pressure peaks against New Zealand.