Outgoing assistant coach Laurie Fisher has made the alarmingly frank confession that the Wallabies "have a massive hill to climb" to win next year's Rugby World Cup on home soil.
"I wouldn't sit here and bet my house on us winning the World Cup," Fisher said on Tuesday after confirming he'd finish up as forwards coach next month.
"That'll be the aim and that's a huge ask. If you say where we are now, it's certainly a massive hill to climb."
Ranked eighth in the world and coming off a first winless four-Test European tour since 1958, the Wallabies face a daunting World Cup draw.
The tournament hosts will play arch rivals New Zealand in the group stages of the global showpiece for the first time and, if they conquer the All Blacks, will likely run into two-time defending champions South Africa in the quarter-finals.
