Jones savaged in Australia after 'long day at the office' at Loftus

Coach Eddie Jones said he endured "a long day at the office" in Pretoria after a disastrous start to his second stint in charge of the Wallabies, with Australian media on Sunday blasting their defeat to South Africa as an "embarrassment".

Upbeat before the Rugby Championship opener against an understrength Springboks, he watched his team crash 43-12 on Saturday evening, concede two penalties tries and have two players yellow-carded.

"We just got beaten to the punch," he admitted after Australia suffered an eighth consecutive loss at Loftus Versfeld since first playing there 60 years ago.

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"We really got beaten in the set pieces. We got beaten on the gain line. We got beaten in the air. When you do not win any of those contests, it is going to be a long day at the office, which it was for us tonight."

The Australian newspaper called the performance "an embarrassment" that "can't be repeated".

"Even before the mismatch, Jones' choices against the Springboks left plenty of long-suffering Wallabies' fans wondering what he was thinking," the broadsheet said.

"Wholesale changes need to be made before next weekend's clash against Argentina in Sydney because nothing wakes players up from a slumber than being dropped."

The Sydney Morning Herald was equally scathing.

"We allowed ourselves to believe in an Eddie miracle. The Wallabies' reality is more sobering," it said.

"In the end, the Wallabies' performance in Pretoria showed no real sign of progress from the (Dave) Rennie years - particularly the discipline - and in several areas, the Australian side even regressed."

Jones acknowledged there were "not too many positives".

"We went out there to play with a