Wallabies come high from England to meet nervous Wales

Kudos to the planner of Australia’s rugby tour of Great Britain and Ireland.

Wales in Cardiff on Sunday is a timely second match. Much better than Scotland and Ireland which follow.

Wales are vulnerable and their confidence is fragile after last weekend’s equalizer – ten consecutive tests – fell on Fiji 24-19 at home for the first time.

The fear of more unwanted history, an eleventh defeat in a row and the prospect of going the entire year without a win for the first time in 87 years weighs heavily on the team and staff.

Meanwhile, Australia has taken the opportunity to catch its breath after the high of Upsetting England 42-37 last weekend at Twickenham.

Knowing what lies ahead on tour, the Wallabies have made eight changes, two of which are positional. They were more than coach Joe Schmidt intended, but his hand was also forced by injuries that saw winger Dylan Pietsch return home and captain Harry Wilson and prop Taniela Tupou sidelined in the Wales match.

Joseph Sua’ali’i, who made such a brilliant debut against England, was also dropped to the reserves. Sua’ali’i will certainly come off the bench as Australia only has a few more games to get him up to speed in test rugby before the British and Irish Lions arrive in July.

“Anyone playing all the consecutive tests against the kind of countries we play here is a big challenge for me, especially playing the full 80 minutes,” Schmidt said. “So if he can catch his breath, watch a bit of the game and then get into the game, I think he’s a great opportunity for us to change the game a little bit if necessary.”

Thirty-somethings Allan Alaalatoa, the stand-in captain, lock Will Skelton, scrumhalf Nic White and inside center Samu Kerevi are back in the starting line-up.

Kerevi and Rob Valetini, shifted to number 8, will play their 50th Tests.

Queensland flanker Seru Uru earns his first start in his second test and Max Jorgensen, who scored the winning try against England, starts in place of Pietsch.

“I’m concerned, and I’m hopefully confident knowing that the guys coming in are going to be fully committed to getting the job done and connecting with the guys who did the job last week,” Schmidt said.

Losing English Premier League scrum-half Tomos Williams to a shoulder injury following the defeat in Fiji has left Wales with an even less experienced backline. Flyhalf Gareth Anscombe’s 38 caps are more than the rest of the backs combined. Ellis Bevan starts 9th in his fifth test, with backup from Rhodri Williams, who last played for Wales 10 years ago.

Wales also turned Fiji just five times, leaving Gatland to change his flankers to Jac Morgan, the World Cup captain, and James Botham.

Criticism of Gatland came swiftly from his former players this week, but he is used to it and remains on course to rebuild Wales.

“I have said very clearly that we are comfortable with the decisions we have made,” Gatland said. “I didn’t think there would be so much pain. We didn’t manage to cross the finish line. We should be able to do that. If a decision is made (about firing me), I’ll be more than comfortable with it. I’ll probably go to the beach and enjoy myself, away from the pressure. But I am very happy with these players. I had a good conversation with the leadership group this week.”

The Wallabies are responsible for Nos 8 and 9 in the Wales streak – when Wales visited in July – and they won their last meeting in Cardiff just two years ago. Australia came from 21 points behind with 23 minutes remaining to win 39-34.

Both coaches were subsequently sacked: Wayne Pivac for winning five of Wales’ fourteen Tests that year, and Dave Rennie, a decision that Australian officials came to regret during the World Cup.

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