The Wallabies have finished the 2025 season in seventh place in the world rankings, meaning they will be placed in 'band two' for the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw on December 3 in Sydney.
Australia needed to beat France by 16 points or more on Sunday (AEDT) to finish in the top six and get a more favourable draw.
But Les Bleus kicked away in the second half in Paris for a 48-33 win that consigned the Wallabies to their worst Spring Tour in 67 years.
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Biggest areas of concern
Finding a world class playmaker remains the biggest challenge for the Wallabies.
The picture is now murkier than ever before as Joe Schmidt's first choice No.10, Noah Lolesio, suffered a season-ending injury and then his second pick, Tom Lynagh, was put in cotton wool after head and hamstring issues.
James O'Connor, Tane Edmed and Carter Gordon were then used with varying degrees of success.
O'Connor, now based in England, was bizarrely in and out of the squad which was mirrored by the lack of direction on the pitch.
It will be interesting to see how Edmed develops under Stephen Larkham at the ACT Brumbies next season but he is simply not Test quality at the moment.
Gordon appeals as the best bet if he can improve his goalkicking but he will have to job share at the Queensland Reds next season.
Australia's work under the high ball was also shoddy in Europe while the lineout capitulated at times.
Ex-Wallabies lock Justin Harrison blasted the decision to start Tom Hooper ahead of Nick Frost in the second row against Ireland.
"That creates instability, which creates uncertainty for hooker, which leads to a catastrophic sort of performance in that crucial set-piece time and at the telling times," Harrison told Stan Sport.
Rays of hope
Gordon's promising return from the NRL against Italy is one ray of hope to cling onto.
Namesake Jake Gordon also had a strong tour after recovering from a serious hamstring injury that sidelined him against the British and Irish Lions.
Gordon's return to form has eased concerns at halfback with Nic White retired while Tate McDermott will be fit again next year.
Fraser McReight reinforced his world class fetcher status while it was pleasing to see Taniela Tupou get some confidence back before starting his contract with Racing 92.
The tighthead prop has reiterated his desire to keep pulling on the gold jersey whenever called upon.
Max Jorgensen had some spectacular moments including his brilliant solo try at Stade de France.
NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar remains spoilt for choice at fullback next year with Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Andrew Kellaway all live options.
Players who must lift to stay in World Cup contention
Edmed and Kellaway need strong Super Rugby campaigns to keep their names in lights for the inaugural rounds of the Nations Championship in July.
We may well have seen the last of O'Connor in a gold jersey, given he is now 35 and playing in England.
He has had a remarkable career.
Suaalii will be one of the first picked but that is now more based on potential rather than performance.
He often looked lost during the tour which is hugely concerning given he starred in his first northern exposure 12 months ago.
Rob Valetini is another world class athlete who has dropped off in form during an injury-plagued season.
The Wallabies won't win many big games without those two firing.
The coaching conundrum
For those that need a refresher, Schmidt will continue coaching the Wallabies for their three July home Tests against Ireland, France and Italy – all teams that have just knocked over Australia.
Schmidt will then hand the reins over to Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss.
Wallabies legend Michael Hooper is curious about how the coaching handover from Schmidt to Kiss will work.
The pair are close, having previously worked together with Ireland, and Kiss spent time with the team in Europe in a mostly observational capacity.
"What I'm hearing is Joe is going to stay involved but from afar," Hooper told Stan Sport.
"So he's going to have oversight over it. But my concern is going forward… how is the team, how's the coaching staff, and how is Rugby Australia going to manage this transition with the players going forward?
"A lot of players know Les Kiss, but that's only Queensland Reds players.
"So how's all this merge going to happen, that's my concern… my hope is that the lessons that are happening now aren't lost, when the changeover occurs soon."
Schmidt, whose son Luke lives in New Zealand and suffers from severe epilepsy, said he would step aside earlier if that's what RA wanted.
"I love these guys, they are such a good group of young men, they want to do the best they can," Schmidt said.
"Unless somebody else can do a better job, I'm happy to step away. I was only really going to be here until the end of the Lions and then six days later, we were assembling to fly to South Africa and I understood that it was very hard for someone to come in and suddenly take over at that stage.
"And then because of the very tight window before we even came away on tour, again, it's very hard for someone suddenly to come in.
"And as I said before, I absolutely admire this group of young men who are trying really hard. So if there's a sense that somebody else can come in and do a better job, that's certainly not for me to say.
"I'll just play golf a bit sooner, and I'll be disappointed because I think these guys are working really hard, and I think they will continue to mature."
Confirmed Rugby World Cup draw bands
Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina
Band 2: Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan
Band 3: Georgia, Spain, Uruguay, USA, Chile, Tonga
Band 4: Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe, Canada
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