Former All Black and World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams has fired shots at Wallabies coach Eddie Jones over reports he met with Japan Rugby before the World Cup.
"From a player's point of view, I'm not following a guy that's sitting having a meeting with another national team, potentially looking for another job, days before you're hopping on a plane."
Williams, who is a part of the commentary team for Australia's Stan Sport in France, delivered the scathing review of Jones following Australia's 40-6 defeat against Wales, with the two-time world champions on the verge of a first-ever group stage exit.
Wales is guaranteed a top-two finish in Pool C, while the Wallabies' fate lies in the hands of Fiji, who would need to lose to lowly ranked Portugal and Georgia.
Williams labelled the defeat "embarrassing", but also took pity on the Australian players, claiming they were up against the odds before their World Cup campaign kicked off.
"That second-half team, they looked like a team that lost belief," he said. "They didn't believe in themselves and that starts from the head, in the sheds, the guy that's telling them to get up.
"I feel for these kids. They're going to carry this on for the rest of their careers and feel this until they come back here again and rectify it."
The Australian squad have been a talking point since they were named last month, with Jones opting for youth, and ditching the likes of 80-cap first-five Quade Cooper and former captain Michael Hooper.
Williams believes the players are paying for that decision now and is demands answers, as a pool stage exit looms.
"Questions need to be asked, from selections to the mind games that Eddie's been playing with these kids, these guys, these young men. There's a guy in the studio [Hooper] that should be here right now.
"As a player, if a coach shows his characteristics and does things like that, I'm not going to follow him into battle. I've got to be prepared to die for a coach and go out there, and give my heart and soul."
The Wallabies final pool game is against Portugal on October 2 (NZ time) at Saint-Etienne.
Join Newshub at 8am Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks v Italy World Cup pool clash
