A sharp start to the season, this, and a defeat that stung like the autumn weather. Australia had lost seven of the 10 games they had played this season, three to England, three to New Zealand, another to South Africa. There was a thought that they were weaker than they had been in a while but the Wallabies poured cold water all over it. They have now won their last 12 Tests against Wales, a run started way back in 2008. It already felt like Wales had lost to them in pretty much every which way a team can; undone by penalties, drop goals, and tries in the final minutes, beaten in both tight kicking contests and free-scoring try-fests. But none of the previous 11 defeats were quite like this one.
Wales were utterly outplayed and lucky, in the end, to lose by only 24. The game was pretty much up at half-time. At that point Australia were leading by 17 and could have been many more ahead if they had only been a little more clinical with their finishing. Australia are a conundrum Wales just cannot seem to solve and they have never looked further from figuring it out than they did here, where they did not even seem to understand the question, much less approach an answer. It was the final quarter before something like a competition broke out. But then wing Dane Haylett-Petty scored Australia’s fifth try, sprinting in after sweeping up a loose pass on the halfway line.
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