Rugby: All Blacks class of '07 proof that Wallabies can turn corner, says assistant coach

Wallabies assistant coach Mick Byrne is asking for patience from his team's supporters, saying his stint with the All Blacks proved that some improvements take time.

Byrne, a skills coach under Michael Cheika, started as a skills coach with the All Blacks in 2005 before moving to forwards coach, a position he held until he returned to his native Australia following the 2015 World Cup.

The Wallabies' skill levels and defence came under severe criticism following their 54-34 defeat to the All Blacks in Sydney last weekend, including from former first-five Michael Lynagh, who said after witnessing his former team leak 40 points in the first half at ANZ Stadium: "I can't overestimate how angry I am at seeing an Australian team have skills that are non-existent.

"Passing and catching and making tackles and trusting the bloke beside you are pretty basic, even at schoolboy level."

Byrne highlighted the All Blacks performance in 2007 - which culminated in a defeat to France in the quarter-final of the World Cup - as proof that players can develop given time.

"If you go back - 2007 wasn't a flash year for us trying to get things right," said Byrne, who started with the Wallabies last year.

"But certainly when it clicks into gear it happens and you turn the corner quickly.

"The improvements have been fantastic," he added of the Wallabies.

"It's been no different in any environment I've been in. You see the improvement on the training field before it transfers to the game.

"If we're not seeing it on the training field, that's when I get frustrated and that's when I start questioning what we're doing. It's just going to be persistence which starts the transfer on to the game.

"I understand people's frustration at not seeing it straight away. Maybe that's a society thing - there's an instant gratification that everybody's after.

"This is just hard work, it's going to take time."

Byrne said there was no point trying to second-guess what the All Blacks would do in Dunedin for the return Bledisloe Cup test.

"Yes I've been there, but they've evolved their game. The challenge for us... is to get ourselves right."