When the Wallabies lose so heavily, it can be hard to benchmark the performance with so much emotion around. However, there are a few handy guides what can help us make sense of it.

In June, virtually the same All Blacks team were kept in check by a hardy Welsh effort for about an hour of the first two Tests of their series, before running over the top of the tired tourists in the third Test.

You can say without fear that the Welsh were more physical than Australia, offered much more threat from No.9 and No.10, had a better set piece, and had a far more robust midfield and dangerous midfield.

That makes Saturday's 42-8 loss at ANZ Stadium an unequivocally poor Wallabies effort, and a real regression since the World Cup. Now to the question of why.

2. The rot started in Super Rugby.

You would have to think that Michael Cheika was pretty disappointed with the conditioning work at some of the franchises when the players went into Wallabies camp.

Subsequently, there has been plenty of talk about the Wallabies running hills and so forth, but office workers can pay to go to boot camps to do something similar.

At Test rugby, intensity is all about the collision. For the first hour, it looked like the Wallabies were completely unprepared for the high intensity, high impact game of the All Blacks, which is no surprise because none of them have spent the past six months playing anything like that style.

Australian rugby's failure at the moment is a collective one.

3. Young coaching team is looking for answers.

The Wallabies' players aren't improving - in fact some looked worse. Whatever the plan was around rebuilding Bernard Foley's game has not worked, Tevita Kuridrani still has handling issues, the Pocock/Hooper combination puts too much pressure on the lineout, and Dane Haylett-Petty is playing out of position.

Those are the headline issues, but there must also be concern and Stephen Moore's limited impact and ability to get on the wrong side of the ref by getting on the wrong side of the ruck, and the absence of a ball carrying second-rower with any real athleticism or punch. It's a list of problems that needs to worked through by Michael Cheika and co, but at the minute they seem to be stuck in a deepening hole.

Test rugby really takes no prisoners, on the field or in the coaching box.     

'Pooper': The David Pocock-Michael Hooper combination puts too much pressure on the lineout. Photo: Getty Images

4. Injuries might spare Kuridrani.

Waratahs Daryl Gibson was working as a pundit for NZ television and after the game called for Israel Folau to be switched to outside-centre, revealing that's where Folau ''wants to play''.

However, with injuries to Rob Horne, Matt Giteau and Matt Toomua, piecing together a back line is no easy feat. The Wallabies are very short on wing options, so finding the right spots for Folau, Haylett-Petty and possibly Samu Kerevi is easier said than done.

No one positional switch is going to solve the Wallabies' problems, and Cheika might decide that throwing Folau into the midfield to form what would invariably be a new combination in Wellington might do him more harm than good.

5. Springboks and Pumas will offer little relief.

Forget any ideas you might have had about the Pumas shaping up as easy opponent based on the Jaguares' poor Super Rugby season. They played their part in a thrilling game in South Africa, with the hosts prevailing 30-23 on the back of a strong finish.

Although both sides lacked the accuracy of the All Blacks, there was plenty of ball movement and ambition, and the Pumas scored the try of the round through centre Matias Orlando, who finished off a sweeping team move.

The style that both sides are attempting to play was clear to see - based on pace and width - and the Springboks also put in a powerful scrummaging performance.

The Wallabies have to lift, and quickly, because based on the first weekend of competition they look vulnerable against all three Rugby Championship sides.

Team of the week

1. Wyatt Crockett (New Zealand)

2. Dan Coles (New Zealand)

3. Owen Franks (New Zealand)

4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)

5. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)

6. Jerome Kaino (New Zealand)

7. Sam Cane (New Zealand)

8. Kieran Read (New Zealand)

9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)

10. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)

11. Waisake Naholo (New Zealand)

12. Ryan Crotty (New Zealand)

13. Malakai Fekitoa (New Zealand)

14. Ben Smith (New Zealand)

15. Israel Dagg (New Zealand)