Hurting after blowing a 12-point lead in a crushing 33-31 loss to Ireland in Sydney, the Wallabies must quickly pick up the pieces or face the prospect of becoming the first Australian team to suffer six straight Test defeats since 2016.
"I'm incredibly disappointed. We stand by a lot of positives to take from it, but we had them exactly where we wanted them and we just weren't good enough," scrumhalf Tate McDermott said.
"We didn't take our opportunities and we gave them one too many opportunities and against a team like Ireland, they're No.3 in the world and they show that.
"They pounce on errors and they make you pay."
The loss was Australia's sixth straight to Ireland stretching back to 2018.
Things won't get any easier against France in Brisbane this Saturday.
Les Bleus are the reigning Six Nations champions, ranked fourth in the world and riding a three-match winning streak over the Wallabies dating back to 2021.
As well as attacking intent and enterprise, Schmidt's side at least showed more heart against the Irish than in last November's 46-19 capitulation in Dublin.
Now the coach needs his charges to display similar improvement and gumption to reverse a last-up 48-33 loss to France, which came a week after the spring tour submission to Ireland. Â
"I felt physically we fronted up to Ireland and you only have to talk to a couple of them. Just talking to Jeremy Lockman, he's a friend of my son's, and he certainly felt the brunt of it," Schmidt said.
"Not that you're trying to do that, but you are trying to run hard, get off the line hard and be really physical around the collision area.
"And I know that's exactly what the French are going to bring next week as well."
The Wallabies are already the first Australian team to lose five straight Tests since Eddie Jones' disastrous 2023 campaign.
Now they must beat a French outfit also smarting after a two-point loss to the All Blacks in Christchurch to avoid joining Michael Cheika's class of 2015-16 by enduring six defeats on the trot.
McDermott is confident the current crop, including outstanding debutant starting lock Josh Canham, are made of sterner stuff.
Canham was a powerhouse for the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium, dominating the lineout with four Australian steals, scoring a try and generally proving a beast around the park.
"I thought the forwards were fantastic. Josh and the boys in the lineout and scrum really took control and laid a great platform for us," McDermott said.
"So we know that the French are again going to be a huge challenge, so we've got to make sure we front up there and put in another performance we can be proud of.
"We're not proud of the loss but, considering where we finished up at the end of last year, we've come a long way in this short space of time and we've got to keep trending that graph upwards."
McDermott replaced Ryan Lonergan late in the first half but the Wallabies are hopeful the try-scoring No.9 will back up after copping a knock to the sternum.
His halves partner Carter Gordon was also replaced but Schmidt said he was merely cramping.
