It was an often below-pay display from the world champions, who were held 9-9 at half-time before second-half tries from centre Stirling Mortlock, skipper George Gregan and number eight David Lyons made the game safe.

“I thought Scotland competed very well at the tackle area, and it was by far their best performance of the tournament,” said Jones.

His words, though, will be of little comfort to Scotland, for whom coach Ian McGeechan, captain Bryan Redpath and wing Kenny Logan all brought the curtain down on their international careers.

Australia will need a major improvement if they are to challenge the All Blacks, and they must also take stock of injuries to replacement fly-half Matt Giteau and flanker George Smith.

Giteau is suffering from an ankle injury, and will undergo X-rays tonight, while Smith is suffering from what Jones termed a minor shoulder injury.

Of the two, Giteau is comfortably Australia’s biggest concern.

Jones conceded that it was not a classic Wallabies display, stating: “We can play better.

“It was a very tough first half, but we came out in the second half and put the game to bed pretty easily.

“Scotland were always going to come out hard in the first 40 minutes, but we knew that if we kept the pressure on in the second half then Scottish errors would come.

“We are where we want to be. We have got to keep improving, but we are looking forward to the semi-final.”

Skipper Gregan was also satisfied with a workmanlike, rather than spectacular, Australian effort.

“Every team will be nervous at this stage of the tournament.

“As far as next week is concerned, there is a massive prize at stake, and the pressure will increase.

“Today’s game was the biggest of the tournament for us so far, and while it wasn’t our best performance, we are in a good position for next week.”

Gregan also paid tribute to his opposite number Redpath, who made his exit from international rugby today.

“He is a great competitor, a wonderful player, and above all, a great bloke,” said the Australian.

“I can’t say much more than that, really.”

Jones was clearly annoyed New Zealand referee Steve Walsh did not brandish the yellow card to Scotland’s repeated technical offenders.

“If people are intentionally giving penalties away at the tackle, whether it is the first minute or the 80th minute, they should be sent to the sin-bin,” Jones said.

“We want a game played at a quick pace, and referees have got to referee from the first to last minute, otherwise we are going to see some really sluggish semi-finals.”