Assistant coach Pierre-Henry Broncan has linked the slide of the Wallabies back to the departure of the world champion Springboks players from Super Rugby, which he felt needed a shake-up.
The Australians are preparing to face Portugal in their final World Cup pool match on Sunday (Monday AEST) in Saint-Etienne but are on the brink of their first ever exit before the quarter-finals after record losses to Wales and Fiji.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, South African teams were axed from Super Rugby in 2021 and joined northern hemisphere competitions, which Frenchman Broncan believed was to the detriment of Australian rugby.
He said he tipped the Wallabies to bridge a 10-point halftime deficit against Wales but instead they were unable to handle the pressure and crumbled to a 40-6 loss - their worst in tournament history.
"Super Rugby before COVID, with South African teams, the Japanese team and the Jaguares from Argentina, was a big competition," said Broncan, a former Castres head coach.
"When you have Super Rugby with the South African teams it was a very tough competition, today the South African teams play in the European Cup and it was a benefit for the northern hemisphere, that's for sure."
Broncan said there was little on the line in the current Super Rugby Pacific format, which is year-on-year dominated by New Zealand teams.
"The big difference between Top 14 and European Cup and your Super Rugby competition in Australia with New Zealand is the pressure.
"In France, we have a pressure in every game because there is a massive thing about relegation, or qualification is important for the European (Champions Cup).
"In Super Rugby there is no relegation, you play just to win Super Rugby against New Zealand and Australia teams."
As well as a lack of high-stakes matches, the absence of the South African teams has meant Australian players aren't regularly tested by the game's best scrummagers, with set-piece a hallmark of Springboks rugby.
Under Australia's high performance program players are usually rested for one or two matches through the Super season to keep them fresh for the Test window but Wallabies centre Lalakai Foketi said he'd rather play.
"I got rostered off for a couple of games and I think they were against the Blues and the Crusaders, so our two hardest games," Foketi said.
"Those are the games you want to play in - Pierre's right - if we want to learn how to handle pressure then we've got to play those games and beat the teams at the top of the Super Rugby ladder.
"We've got to play those tough games."
