'The worst thing that Australia could do is sack Jones' - Former Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock

Former Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock has warned the Rugby Australia on taking any hasty decision on head coach Eddie Jones following their unimpressive performances in the ongoing Rugby World Cup.

Jones took over as the head coach for the second time in January this year replacing Dave Rennie but since then the Wallabies have lost seven out of their eight matches.

The Wallabies also are on the verge of facing an elimination in the opening round of the Rugby World Cup for the first time following their defeats to Fiji and Wales that has seen them slip to the 10th position in the World Rugby Rankings.

With Australia hosting a British and Irish Lions series in 2025 and a Rugby World Cup in 2027, Mortlock, who has played 80 Tests for the Wallabies said it would be unfair to judge Jones at a short-interval.

"As a coach and a leader, he's unaccountable and he says that," Mortlock told the BBC's Rugby Union Daily podcast.

"I respect him, in every sense of the word, that he wears it."

"The worst thing that Australia could do is suddenly get rid of him and say 'no, you're not the best man for the job' only after six months or whatever it has been.

"Back your man -- you picked him for a reason.

"It was all about building for an amazing runway in the next four years".

Jones has left out veteran players like Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper and handed the captaincy to Will Skelton putting his trust on a young squad. Mortlock, who has captained Australia in 29 Tests said with experience they could become a better team.

"He rolled the dice with youth for this World Cup campaign. I actually respect that," added Mortlock.

"At the time, I was like, 'This is amazing, he's really having a crack here.'

"But the flip side is, it doesn't work quickly, which it normally doesn't with young players.

"You need time to play together to build up combinations and cohesion."