They may try to console themselves that they have play-making magician Quade Cooper to bring back, that James O'Connor and Adam Ashley-Cooper will offer stability and better decision-making in the midfield and Kurtley Beale could add his scorching pace and innate skills to the mix from fullback. That will help but it won't transform them, as it won't fix the fundamental issue: they are too easily beaten up in all the physical exchanges.
Scotland's scrambling defence in Newcastle has to be duly acknowledged but it wasn't actually such a major chore keeping the Wallabies tryless. Some of the Wallabies' pick and go thrusts had all the power of a hairdryer and the Scots could sense they weren't up against much when they were so easily able to exert match-winning pressure in the scrums.
That story is by no means a one-off. Ireland were able to crush the Wallabies at the World Cup last year with their aggressive defence and anger in the collisions. England, even in their darkest periods of the recent past, have been able to destroy Australia twice through the power of their scrum alone. Wales and Samoa have also claimed victories in the same period - all built on their superior physicality and ability to dominate at the collisions.
The All Blacks have never had it so good against the Wallabies - winning 12 of the last 15 clashes. Each victory was built on the hard work of the forwards who put a boot on the throat and left it there for 80 minutes.
Even when the Wallabies were threatening to rampage in Brisbane last year after New Zealand was rocked by successive early injuries to Adam Thomson and Kieran Read, the All Blacks nearly salvaged the game because of the mileage they could make through the forwards.
Australia don't stand a chance of being taken seriously with this flaw in their game so exposed. Scotland, winless all year, didn't appear that surprised they had won and Wales will head to the valleys almost distraught if they don't take out the series.
Test football hasn't really changed in essence since Scotland played England in 1871 - forwards, more often than backs, determine the outcome. The inches have to be won, momentum has to be built and a dynasty can't be built behind a retreating pack, which is why the Wallabies' IRB world ranking of No 2 presents a false picture of their true standing. They sit there despite having won only 58 per cent of their tests under Deans and even Australians, with their innate confidence and belief, would struggle to see how that ratio will improve this year. It's not inconceivable that they will enter the Rugby Championship having lost three of their last four tests - the pressure almost intolerable and then ... they have to open with back-to-back games against the All Blacks.
And it won't get any easier from there. The Pumas, especially with some input from Sir Graham Henry, will be nothing if not ferocious in the tight.
They can scrummage and they can hit collisions and will fancy they could topple the Wallabies in Argentina.
South Africa, conditioned by what should be a feisty and possibly epic series against a big, physical English side, have revenge on their minds after being knocked out of the World Cup by the Wallabies.
"We learnt tonight we were not on the one page," lamented Deans after the loss to Scotland. "We lacked a bit of clarity in our direction in terms of banking games like that. I guess it's not in our DNA. It's an art we have to develop."
It's an art they will have to develop quickly. When post match analysis takes on a familiar, regretful theme, it most definitely breeds contempt.
