Australia is at “rock bottom” after a record defeat to Wales left Eddie Jones and the Wallabies on the brink of an “embarrassing” group-stage World Cup exit, as the media turned on the team following a humiliating night in Lyon.

Wales recorded their biggest-ever win against Australia with a stunning 40-6 scoreline, with the two-time World Cup champions the Wallabies suffering their heaviest World Cup defeat. The result also left Australia all-but eliminated from the World Cup with a game to spare, which is set to be the first time the country has failed to reach the quarter-finals.

Much of the anger was directed towards former England head coach Jones, who apologised for the record defeat but then lashed out at journalists during a tense press conference after the match. Jones was unhappy with questions surrounding a report in the Sydney Morning Herald earlier in the day, which claimed Jones was secretly interviewed by Japanese rugby officials just days before the World Cup about taking over as the country’s head coach.

The Herald called Australia’s defeat “embarrassing”, with rugby reporter Tom Decent writing that the “Eddie Jones experiment can officially be declared a disaster”.

“Rock Bottom: Wallabies worst nightmare comes true,” was the verdict from The Australian, after Jones’s team failed to turn up in what was billed as one of their biggest games in recent history.

Australia second-rower Richie Arnold meanwhile painted a bleak picture when asked what went wrong for the Wallabies against Wales. “We let the country down, we let ourselves down, pretty embarrassing to be honest,” he said. “F***, mate, what didn’t go wrong?”

Former New Zealand star and two-time World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams said he felt sorry for the Australia players. “That second half, they looked like a team that just lost belief,” the former All Black told Stan Sport. “40-6 was really embarrassing and I feel for these kids. They’re going to carry this on for the rest of their careers and feel this until they get to come back here again and rectify it.”