Wales ready for Wallabies showdown

JOSH Macleod has insisted Wales are ready to face Australia following some "very honest" conversations after an embarrassing defeat by Georgia in Cardiff.

Wales have lost eight of their 11 tests so far in 2022 and will end a year marked by home losses to both Italy and Georgia when they welcome the Wallabies to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

They will go into the game, their last of the calendar year, bidding for a fourth successive win over Australia but with head coach Wayne Pivac and the squad under huge pressure following a 13-12 loss to Georgia – Wales' first defeat by the Lelos.

Back-row forward Macleod made his test debut against Georgia and is likely to be involved in Wales' matchday 23 against Australia.

But even a victory over an injury-hit Australia might not keep Pivac in his job, although the New Zealander's exit would leave the Welsh Rugby Union with a tricky decision about a replacement just 10 months out from the 2023 World Cup in France.

Macleod said of Wales' debrief following the Georgia debacle: "They (the conversations) were very honest.

"It was a good day and we got a lot out of it. I think we have wiped that slate clean and now we are really pushing hard for Australia.

"As a squad, we were massively frustrated and disappointed with the result as a whole."

Macleod's longawaited debut was one of the few positive stories to emerge for Wales from the Georgia debacle.

The 26-year-old had been selected to start in Wales' 2021 Six Nations match with Scotland but ruptured his Achilles tendon during a training session days before the game.

"It has been a tough time since the last call-up. I was just glad to get that monkey off my back," Macleod said.

"I changed my routine a bit – more recovery, a bit less weights – and I try to be out on the training park as much as I can because I find that builds a little bit of resilience to all these niggles and stuff."