Eddie Jones: Rugby Championship a glorified pre-season for us

The former England head coach took charge in January 2023 but has ultimately had very little time with his squad.

Australia have suffered successive defeats at the beginning of Jones' second tenure, with the last a hugely disappointing 34-31 home loss to Argentina.

They look quite a way off from being genuine World Cup challengers, but the 63-year-old believes that they will be much better by the time of the global tournament.

"We're just getting ready. In a lot of ways, the Rugby Championship for us is a glorified pre-season for us. As much as we want to win, we've got to use it to experiment a bit because I'm still getting to know the players," he told Sky Sports News.

"I've been working with the players, really had them for six training sessions; we've just got to keep finding out where we're at and how we can put together the strongest team.

"Australia's a good tournament team. Look at their record at the World Cup. We do well in tournaments, and that history helps you.

"We're a country that's a small country, a long way from everywhere and sport's important for us, and if our sporting teams can do well, it puts Australia on the map."

Jones is renowned for making an immediate impact when taking a new job, but that has not happened with the Wallabies.

"I think in reality, we need to hit rock bottom and then bounce up. I was hoping that we could do an immediate rescue job. That's not going to happen. We almost need to scrape at the bottom and start again to a large degree," he added.

"There's been a fairly big drop off in Australian rugby, so we've got to try to find a way to lift it up.

"I love the challenge of putting a team together and coming back to your own country there's no more pride than hopefully getting the Wallabies back playing well."