Wallabies gloom lifts with solid Northern Hemisphere tour

MELBOURNE : Australian rugby heads into the Christmas break with a rare bout of festive cheer after the Wallabies made great strides on their Northern Hemisphere tour.

Gloomy predictions of a wipe-out against the home nations proved well wide of the mark as Joe Schmidt's side claimed a rousing win over England at Twickenham and thumped woeful Wales a week later.

A 27-13 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield took some of the gloss off the tour, and being run down by Ireland late in their 22-19 defeat on Saturday may sting for some of the Wallabies players through the break.

Schmidt finished his first season in charge with six wins from 13 tests, with half of those the victories coming against the struggling Welsh.

But the Wallabies showed more than enough improvement for fans and home media to now look forward to next year's British and Irish Lions tour with a sense of excitement rather than trepidation.

With Schmidt contracted until the end of the Lions tour in August, Rugby Australia (RA) is working on an extension to retain the New Zealander until the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

RA's record in coaching matters has been questionable in recent years - see Eddie Jones's stormy tenure of two wins and seven defeats and a first group-stage exit at a World Cup.

However, the governing body has universal support in seeking to lock down Schmidt.

"He's done a lot for us this year and changed the way we play," Wallabies loose forward Rob Valetini said. "The results sort of speak for themselves what he's done this year.

"So if he was able to extend, the boys would be keen for that."

While the Wallabies' attack showed a new dimension, their defence against an Irish side that dominated territory and possession underlined a gradual improvement