A TRAINING RUN FOR AUSTRALIA!

WALES were completely blown out of town by an Australian team who, to my mind, weren’t even at their best. There was a massive difference in approach and also in the skill factor and the pace they went about the game.

It’s going to be another long and searching autumn campaign for Wales.

When you consider this game was between the third-best and fifth-best in the world it makes a mockery of the whole system.

The difference in level and class was huge and gigantic. The hierarchy of the Welsh Rugby Union must be thinking very, very hard as to where on earth do we stand.

The regions are average and that is being kind. The game itself is very stagnant. It’s not committed and there is no energy about.

Australia made it into a public training session in the first half. I can’t remember for a long time where Wales’ contribution in a period as long as that was almost nil. Virtually from the kick-off, the Wallabies controlled the game.

Bernard Foley was excellent, he always had runners on his shoulders.

They play close to the line and make initial breakthroughs and in end it’s inevitable that these will count.

Some of their passing was quite superb and their class came to the top. You have got Israel Folau at full-back, some wonderful handlers of the ball in midfield.

What impressed me as much as anything was the contribution of their two locks, Arnold and Coleman. In the creation of Foley’s try there was a basketball quality about them.

We are left behind when you come to looking at the bigger picture and how we approach the game.

We must forget some of our traditional ways of playing the game, some of this head-down rugby.

When we smell the try-line, we get confused, instead of using the space and width.

The lesson of the World Cup versus Australia against 13 men has not been learned.

There were situations out there very, very close to Twickenham on that day. It was head down, the nose sees the white line and they just go for it. We need some direction. We were lacking direction in the team.

There was no sense of urgency about the Welsh play.

They must look at the video of this game, even though it will hurt big time, to see their mistakes and the ease at which Australia got turnovers going.

We are talking about issues we have addressed so often in the recent past we just don’t seem to be making progress.

To see people getting up and leaving the stadium before the end of the game was sad.

But this is a new dawn for the approach of the new modern-day sports supporter.

They like to follow a winning team and an exciting team. This team at the moment doesn’t tick any of the boxes.

It hurts me and it hurts the fans. They don’t like it one iota. There was a mood of quietness and acceptance with the crowd that nothing was going to happen.

On the plus side, I thought Sam Davies did well when he came on. He was very assured.

He put Scott Williams into that little area for the grubber kick and try. He took the ball, he attacked the midfield.

We did have a little glimpse of what can be done and achieved during a period in the second half.

There was a purpose and an energy there. He was a bit unfortunate at the end that his long pass led to an intercept try.

I would definitely think he needs a chance in the staring line-up next week. With the unfortunate injury to Rhys Webb, I would think Gareth Davies and Sam are likely to be at nine and 10.

Now we have to look ahead to Argentina and that game is of huge importance.

I can’t over-emphasise that. Argen- tina have really impressed me in terms of how they have developed and understand the international rugby stage and what is needed to compete at that level.

They are very much in the Australian style of play.

They will come out exactly like the Wallabies from the kick-off.

They will be absolutely barrelled up for this one. It will be wonderful to watch them play.

If Wales can’t pick up their game and adapt, then I fear the worst for next week and the rest of the campaign.

Ultimately from fifth in the world we could, in a matter of weeks, be down to eighth and struggle as we did before the World Cup which put us into the group of death. Now that can’t happen again. It’s absolutely vital that they don’t do that.

But if we come out like this in the remaining games we are in trouble.