Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones was party to $2.6m in unauthorised spending on the failed World Cup campaign

Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh has revealed $2.6m in “unacceptable” and unapproved expenses were spent on former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones’s disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign as a review delivered 23 recommendations to ensure the Paris failure never happens again.

The massive overspend came as Waugh addressed the findings of a review commissioned into the biggest World Cup failure in Australian rugby history, with the Wallabies failing to make the knockout stages for the first time.

He confirmed the money was spent on team costs, staff travel and player benefits and that RA only found out the extent of the excess spending “retrospectively” after Jones quit to take up the head coaching role with Japan.

Waugh also confirmed there had been “personnel changes on the back of some of those breaches” amid “lenience given in the hope that we would succeed at the World Cup and make it deep into the tournament”.

“Clearly that didn’t happen, but the circumstances were quite unique,” he said on Thursday. ’

“Delegation of authority is important and clearly there were breaches in that area and we’ve made personnel changes on the back of some of those breaches.

“That over-investment, that’s not acceptable and it won’t happen going forward.”

Waugh didn’t want to single out Jones for blame and instead called it a “cultural deficiency that we need to rectify”.

Those culture issues were key findings among those addressed in the review undertaken by a four-person panel incorporating former internationals Andrew Slack and Justin Harrison that came back with a massive 23 recommendations around selection, the high-performance program and team culture.

Having already appointed a new coach in Joe Schmidt, key among the recommendations were a plan to “reset the formal player leadership structure of the Wallabies”, which could mean appointing a new captain.

Other recommendations included:

• Implement a shared leadership model across players and coaches.

• Refine the team selection process to be more transparent for players.

• Development of cohesive training and program principles to establish more clarity for players.

• Foster greater interaction between RA Board and national players to build trust, promote transparency and improve culture.

• Create an environment that is built on trust with an emphasis on player and staff welfare.

• Design and embed a Wallabies team legacy with input from the playing group.

There was also a major focus on restructuring the roles of coaches and high-performance staff, with Waugh declaring the changes would “build a stronger Wallabies program”.

“Following the Rugby World Cup last year, we began to systematically apply structural and personnel changes to address a significant number of the improvement opportunities raised in the review,” he said.

“Last season was a unique situation with a unique set of circumstances, and it was important for us to hold an external process to get a very detailed and honest evaluation from the stakeholders – especially the players.

“This will allow us to process the 2023 season and use it to build a stronger Wallabies program.

“We have been stressing the importance of an aligned and united rugby ecosystem across all levels, and it is essential that the Wallabies lead the way – the Wallabies are an important team to Australia, with a long and storied history.

“I would like to thank each of the members of the review panel for their professionalism, thoroughness and sensitivity throughout this process. I am confident that this review will help draw a line in the sand as we strive to implement the processes and structures that will drive the Wallabies towards a successful future.”

The Wallabies will return to action on July 6 against Wales, one of the teams that defeated Jones’s men in France during his failed campaign.