Injuries to key backs Digby Ioane and Will Genia have added to the frustration felt by Wallabies' coach Robbie Deans in the aftermath of his team's 21-20 second Test loss to England.

Ioane is set to miss the entire Tri Nations campaign, Deans confirming on Sunday the blockbusting back will require a shoulder reconstruction that will sideline him for around four months.

Genia, who had only just returned from another injury, is touch and go for the start of Australia's Tri Nations campaign against South Africa in Brisbane on July 24.

X-Rays on Sunday confirmed the gifted No.9 has a broken right thumb, immediately ruling him out of the Ireland Test in Brisbane on Saturday and potentially for four to six weeks in total.

Deans said he would look at the possibility of calling another halfback into the squad, with Barbarians representative Josh Valentine among those likely to be considered.

Adam Ashley-Cooper, who replaced Ioane on Saturday night, is expected to start against Ireland, with Peter Hynes or Lachie Turner among the candidates for the reserve outside-back position.

Deans joked he hadn't been brave enough to watch a video of Saturday night's defeat but said he was frustrated by the Wallabies' performance.

The coach was clearly disappointed by Australia's effort in a number of areas including their restarts and kick-chase game at ANZ stadium.

"We made some progress in the scrum, we've still got a way to go, but some of the other elements of the game dropped off," Deans told reporters on Sunday.

"There was probably a degree of comfort possibly magnified by the ease at which we scored when we had good set piece possession and sometimes that can be counter productive.

"Blokes then sit there and wait for it to happen, but it doesn't happen at Test level."

Skipper and flanker Rocky Elsom attributed Australia's lacklustre display to a combination of attitude and technical deficiencies.

"We went away from the game that we wanted to play, it turned a lot slower than we would have liked and we weren't able to have the impact in the contest we wanted," Elsom said.

He anticipated Ireland would bring a similar mindset to England, desperate for a win after losses to the All Blacks and New Zealand Maori.

"They will be reasonably desperate and looking for a win," said Elsom, who was part of the Irish provincial side Leinster's European Cup winning team of 2008-09.

"I think they always seem to play well against us, so we have to be wary."

With Genia sidelined, Luke Burgess will reclaim the halfback spot he lost after producing probably his finest Test performance in the first Test win over England in Perth.

A diplomatic Burgess said he was neither surprised nor disappointed to have been dropped.

"No, I'm happy to be part of the group, I want the Wallabies to win," Burgess said.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm sure people have been right on more that one occasion about my performance, I just work away and do my best," Burgess said.

Prop Benn Robinson and hooker Stephen Moore are on track to return for Australia's Tri Nations opener, while another hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau will play three club games next month before a possible ankle operation.

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