Matt Faessler and Tom Wright scored hat-tricks as Grand Slam-chasing Australia extended Wales’ losing streak to 11 Tests with a big win in Cardiff on Sunday.
The 52-20 win allowed the Wallabies to catch the Australian tourists, who won the 1984 Grand Slam title. The Australian tourists swept all four of their home nations following an impressive opening win over England before clashes with Scotland and Ireland.
But the defeat will only increase speculation about Gatland’s future. The New Zealander won just six of 23 Tests during his second term as Wales coach.
The team now needs to regroup before taking on the world champions Springboks on Saturday in a six-day fixture.
A loss to the Boks would mark a year without a Welsh win, which last happened in 1937.
“It was a great 80 minutes,” said Man of the Match Wright. “Ebb and flow, we gave Wales a lot of momentum in the stages and made it difficult for ourselves, but it’s a game you want to be a part of.”
Wales’ Gareth Thomas admitted his team failed to follow plan.
“When we trained during the week we looked sharp and there was real confidence in the group. “Once there was a little bit of pressure on us, we weren’t good enough,” he told the Welsh Broadcasting Corporation. S4C.
Tom Rogers deprived Samu Kerevi of his 50th Test try after Wright and Max Jorgenson combined with a smart offload to cut the Wales defense into ribbons.
Wright then showed a clean heel down the right wing to ease inside Blair Murray for the game’s opening try.
Gatland was left grimacing at a defensive error and the situation quickly deteriorated. Nick Frost crossed for Australia’s second just minutes later, with the lock racing in from 50 metres.
Noah Rolecio converted but had a penalty shot denied after Wales full-back Cam Winnett gained possession following a corner kick.
The second penalty saw Australia’s persistence rewarded as Faessler was dismissed from a rolling maul from an attacking lineout with the visitors leading 19-0 after 22 minutes.
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Starting from kick-off, Wright gave Wales a rare visit to the Wallaby half, delighting a crowd of 56,188 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Capacity was well below 74,000.
The home side scored a try from Gareth Anscombe when number 8 Aaron Wainwright was hit by a short ball.
This was followed by a spell of play in which Wales controlled, their dominance resulting in two Anscombe penalties and Wales suddenly coming back from six points down at half-time.
Australia enjoyed their worst start to the second period when Kerevi was shown a yellow card by New Zealand referee James Doleman for a head-on tackle on Jac Morgan.
The card was upgraded to a red as there were no mitigating factors, but Kerevi was substituted after 20 minutes in line with new laws being trialled by World Rugby.
The question then was whether Wales could capitalize on the numerical superiority that failed them in last week’s 24-19 loss to Fiji.
They failed again, Lolesio going out for a corner again after an offside penalty and Faessler driving away from the resulting maul for his second try of the game.
It was a feeling of déjà vu just minutes after Wales skipper Dewi Lake was awarded a penalty. Lolesio took the corner and Faessler broke through a tackle from Ben Thomas to score his hat-trick.
Lolesio made no mistake with the extras and despite Kerevi warming the bench, Australia were suddenly ahead 33-13.
Wales looked increasingly toothless in attack, with a raft of substitutions disrupting continuity, particularly at the lineout, where substitute Ryan Elias failed to find his mark on several occasions.
Then Wright attempted to intercept a Sam Costelow pass for an easy entry.
Rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii came on as a substitute for Kerevi in the 62nd minute and Australia were reduced to 14 men despite scoring three converted tries.
Wales hit back with a Ben Thomas try and Costelow converted, but the Wallabies had the final say when first Len Ikitau put Winnett aside and Wright scored his third and Australia’s eighth in a one-sided match.
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
