Byrne stokes the Welsh fires

IT HAS been 12 games and nine long years since Wales last beat Australia.

And as Warren Gatland’s side bid to end their Wallaby hoodoo in Cardiff on Saturday, they have been urged to summon the spirit of 2008 to try to inspire them to a fast start to their autumn Tests.

On November 29 of that year, Wales produced a heroic display to edge a 21-18 victory over Australia.

Since then, it has been nothing but pain against the men in green and gold, but former fullback Lee Byrne, who scored a try and was named man of the match in 2008, believes Gatland’s side have a chance of victory on Saturday, so long as they look to the past for inspiration.

“It’s crazy to think that game was nearly 10 years ago. It was a hell of a match and it was a pleasure to be involved in it,” he said.

“The atmosphere was incredible and I’ll never forget it. The feeling when I scored was indescribable. But the key thing for us that day was confidence. We went into the 2008 Tests on the back of winning that year’s Six Nations and we had a huge amount of self-belief.

“Momentum was on our side and that was massive for us. We knew Australia were going to be a tough test – they always are – but we felt great with where we were as a team.

“Wales are at a slightly different stage now and it looks like they’re going to pick a team with one eye on the 2019 World Cup. But there’s no use them going into Saturday without them believing they can win. We really thought that in 2008 and look what happened.”

In 2008, Byrne and Shane Williams scored tries in a brutal contest. A sickening early collision between Jamie Roberts and Stirling Mortlock saw both players leave the field, but only after Roberts played on with what was eventually diagnosed as a broken skull.

Byrne went on to feature in the 2009 Lions tour on the back of his performance, but the odds are stacked against Gatland’s men.

Lions captain Sam Warburton is on the sidelines, while Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric are big injury doubts.

Gatland names his team to face Australia today, with Gareth Davies expected to step in for Webb at No9.