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Wales face Australia on Sunday hoping to avoid a defeat that would condemn them to a national record 11 consecutive defeats.
AFP Sport looks back at three topics of discussion for the one-off Test at the Stade de la Principality.
Cunning trainers
Wales coach Warren Gatland faces an unwanted national record 11 Test defeats in a row if his team loses to Australia, who have won nine of the last 11 Tests against the Welsh, including two this summer .
“Those two games were close, in Sydney and Melbourne,” said Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, also referring to Wales’ 40-6 victory over Australia – with Eddie Jones in charge – in of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“It’s not like Wales have morphed into a really bad team. They came close to several Six Nations teams. They lost by one score to England and Scotland, as well as against Fiji (24-19) last week.
“I’m sure Warren feels some pressure, like any international coach.”
Gatland and Schmidt know each other well, with the latter having overseen Ireland’s transformation to become one of the world’s best teams before helping the All Blacks in 2023 and then taking up his current role.
Sunday’s match will be the 12th time the pair – who played for the same New Zealand teachers team – have faced each other. Schmidt has bragging rights, with seven wins to Gatland’s three, with one draw.
And Schmidt had sympathy for his fellow New Zealander as both teams made the transition with the blood of a group of young players.
“I’m comfortable with the pressure on me,” Gatland insisted.
Centers of attention
The player of the match in Australia’s dramatic 42-37 win over England last week was Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, making his Test debut after coming through the rugby league codes.
But the 21-year-old was benched for the Wales game, with Samu Kerevi instead starting alongside Len Ikitau in midfield.
“It’s been a whirlwind for Joseph the last couple of weeks, so for him to just be able to catch his breath and watch a little bit of the game before he goes in, it’s a great opportunity for us to turn things around if necessary,” Schmidt said.
“There was that temptation to keep him there to a certain extent. Anyone playing four consecutive Tests against the ranked countries that we’re up against, that’s a big challenge for anyone, especially playing the full 80 minutes.”
Welsh centers Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn will have their hands full keeping the Wallabies in check, with Suaalii earmarked for a cameo role to show off his aerial prowess and sublime offloading skills.
Thomas said he saw a lot of Suualii playing in the NRL with the Sydney Roosters.
“He’s probably given us a preview of what we can expect this weekend when we play him, so it’s up to us to limit his time and space,” he said.
“They always recruit athletes when they recruit championship players, so we will be aware of that.”
Captain Morgan returns
There is a welcome return to the Wales starting XV for Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan, the 2023 World Cup co-captain who has not started a Test match since that tournament.
He led Wales to their World Cup quarter-final defeat by Argentina and a non-capped victory over the Barbarians. But what followed was a series of knee and hamstring injuries that caused him to miss both the Six Nations and the summer tour to Australia.
“They’re a great team. They had a great win last weekend against England. We need to stay at it for 80 minutes,” Morgan said of the Australian threat.
“I feel ready, excited. We can definitely turn things around. It comes down to momentum and a little bit of luck. As long as we stay together, anything can happen.
“A win and maybe a bit of confidence can come back. A lot of boys played in this game (in the Rugby World Cup) and we can take confidence from that.”
Morgan added: “We never come out to lose. We come out to win and make everyone proud. There’s pressure every week at this level, whether you win or lose.”
He will face the tireless Rob Valetini, moved to No.8 with Harry Wilson ruled out injured, alongside Fiji-born Seru Uru and Fraser McReight.
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