Cheika and Byrne respond to Lynagh's Wallabies criticism

Byrne, however, insists there has been a marked improvement in overall skills since he took over last year and has explained that time is required to see results.

Following Australia's 54-34 loss to the All Blacks in Sydney, Lynagh, who represented the Wallabies in 72 games from 1984 to 1995, could not hold back his frustration after the match.

"I can't overestimate how angry I am at seeing an Australian team have skills that are non-existent," Lynagh said on Sky Sports. "Passing and catching and making tackles and trusting the bloke beside you are pretty basic even at schoolboy level. Australia has had a month to work together to try and create stuff and do things and they come up with that in the first 40. Very, very disappointing."

Speaking on Tuesday at Wallabies training in Christchurch, Cheika had little to say when pressed on Lynagh's comments.

"Where's he? Over in England isn't he?" Cheika said. "If that's how he feels, [we] can't change it except for what we do on the field.

"There's nothing else I can say to it, really."

Byrne, a former All Blacks skills coach, gave an honest appraisal when asked for a response to the criticism.

"When you're talking about a dropped pass or a missed tackle they're skillsets and yeah, they weren't up to scratch," Byrne said. "When you're out there as a group working on changing habits, there is a period of time when sometimes it's not acceptable. I understand that.

"I honestly believe that when you're inside, we know where we are going with it. We are not executing some of the things we'd like to but we are trying to get better every day.

"When you look at the game and from a scoreboard point of view, some of the errors we made, we took some great learnings."

Byrne says he can understand the public's frustration in the aftermath of a particularly sobering loss to the All Blacks but believes there are positive signs coming out of the Wallabies from a skills perspective.

"The improvements have been fantastic," Byrne said. "We are seeing huge improvements there and it's going to be persistence that will start to transfer it out into the game.

"I understand people's frustrations that they're not seeing it straight away. Maybe that's a thing of society; there's an instant gratification that's everybody is after. But this is just hard work that takes time."

Byrne, known affectionately as "Mick the Kick", pointed to the fact that the All Blacks also needed time to see genuine improvements when he first came on board.

"If you go back, 2007 wasn't a flash year for us trying to get things right but certainly when it clicks into gear it happens and when you turn the corner you turn it pretty quickly," Byrne said. "The key is perseverance and these boys' energy to do that has been tremendous."

Meanwhile, recent Wallabies debutant Curtis Rona said there were "highs and lows" in his first outing in a gold jersey but his hunger to remain on the wing has well and truly remained.

If Dane Haylett-Petty is cleared of a biceps injury, which is likely, Rona will probably have to make way for his Western Force teammate.

"He's got a good chance of being fit and it'll be massive for the team if he's ready to go," Rona said. "In every game he's played for Australia he's been exceptional."

Rona said in such tough times for Australian rugby, fans needed to show their support rather than bag the national team.

"What makes the game more important is if they stick it out with us and get behind us and encourage us and be positive more than negative," Rona said. "That's what we need in times like this.

"It's all right for supporters to jump on a winning streak but when it's times like this, against the best team in the world, we need people to support us and show some positivity coming into these games."