Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is pointing the finger squarely at himself after Australia's shock 22-15 defeat to Fiji at the Rugby World Cup.
After ending his wait for a victory as Wallabies coach with a tournament-opening win against Georgia last week, Jones' Australia came crashing back down on Monday morning (NZ time).
All up, Australia have won one game and lost six since Jones returned to the helm at the start of 2023, after Kiwi Dave Rennie was sacked following a run of poor results.
Now, though, Australia's World Cup is in serious trouble, unless they can get past an unbeaten Wales in a week's time.
Jones – who has never shyed away from his role in Australia's poor results – holds his hands up after yet another defeat in a torrid 2023.
"We're doing our absolute best, and I apologise," said Jones. "It's my fault, I take full responsibility for it.
"It definitely hurts, it hurts personally, 100 percent. I'm 100 percent responsible for it.
"I've gone down the line of picking a young team and I want this young team to be a good team.
"We had a bad day today, which can happen and we've got to be better next week.
"That's my responsibility."
Australia's World Cup campaign will hinge on their next fixture, taking on Wales in Lyon on Monday (NZ time).
Wales' campaign has gotten off to the perfect start, defeating Fiji and Portugal in their first two matches.
Monday's clash was marred by Jones being booed in Nice, as was also the case against Georgia in Paris in the tournament's opening week.
Jones, though, doesn't expect anything else, relishing his role as the man rugby – wrongly – loves to hate.
"I'm a bit used to it," he added. "After that, I probably deserve more.
"They should be throwing baguettes and croissants at me.
"It's not good enough. I deserve whatever I get."
