We must end Wallabies jinx, says Gatland
Now that plates from the hors d’oeuvres have been cleared away, Wales are getting ready for the main course. If beating a Scotland side who have not won in Cardiff since 2002 and were thrashed 34-7 on their last visit hardly qualified as a surprise, Saturday’s encounter with the Wallabies is an altogether different proposition for a side who struggled to crank into top gear against the Scots.
The final whistle had barely sounded before Wales head coach Warren Gatland was casting his mind forward to the Aussies. You only need to look at Wales’s record against the Wallabies to appreciate how irritating the men in green and gold have become.
In Gatland’s first year as national coach, Wales beat Australia 21-18 – their first win over the Wallabies since 2005 – but since then they have lost to Australia 13 times in a row, including eight times in Cardiff.
Nor is it just the fact of those defeats; the manner of them is what has hurt. Time and again Wales have been in a position where they should win, only for a late Australian score to deny them. Gatland makes no attempt to hide his frustration, or to emphasise how important it is to break the spell before Wales meet Australia at next year’s World Cup, where the two nations have been drawn in the same pool.
If Scotland’s rationale for meeting Wales in Cardiff at the weekend was overwhelmingly commercial, Wales’s was about having a tough game and a win (their first autumn international opening-day victory since 2014) to prepare them for a game against an Australia side who have won just three of 10 games this year.
“Having that game today was good for us,” said Gatland, “because there have been times against the Wallabies, like when Kurtley Beale scored in the last few minutes; when we conceded a penalty in Australia right on full-time and Harris kicked it; and other games when we’ve been leading where things haven’t gone so well.”
Wales have often been more impressive in the Six Nations than in the summer or autumn, so for Gatland, Wales’s current winning streak is evidence that their plans for the World Cup are on course.
After beating France and Italy in their past two Six Nations games, a summer win over the Springboks and a double against Argentina have been followed by this win over Scotland, which gives them six victories in succession ahead of games against Australia, Tonga and South Africa.
“From a confidence perspective, if we could go and win against Australia and then beat Tonga it would be brilliant for us,” Gatland said. “We want to get four from four in the autumn. We’re building some depth in the squad and good confidence, with guys competing for positions. It’s two things: it’s wanting to do well, but it’s also the next 12 months and wanting to build for the Six Nations and the World Cup.”
Gatland’s options expanded in some key positions on Saturday. In particular, Gareth Anscombe put in an assured display from fly-half which will give the Wales coach pause for thought. Anscombe, who can also play full-back, may be behind Dan Biggar and the injured Rhys Patchell in the pecking order and has a less finely-honed kicking game, but he offers an attacking option and he combined well with inside centre Hadleigh Parkes.
Although Biggar was unavailable against Scotland as the match was outside the international window, Gatland hinted that he may give Anscombe another run next week, even though Biggar will be avail-