Len Ikitau has given a stirring defence of Joe Schmidt's coaching in the wake of what Morgan Turinui described as the "poorest performance" of his Wallabies tenure.

Australia were stunned 26-19 by Italy in Udine on Sunday (AEDT) in a disturbingly flat and error-ridden showing.

The Wallabies have now lost five of their last six Tests with a scratchy 19-15 victory over Japan their only triumph in that bleak period.

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Schmidt, a former world coach of the year, inherited the team at a low ebb after Eddie Jones crashed out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in spectacular fashion.

The New Zealander cast a wide selection net and made steady improvements in the game's basics to

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