There is a faint possibility of the Welsh scraping a win after 10 losses in a row -- which includes a 2-0 summer series defeat to the Wallabies Down Under – but only if there is real hunger, based on the old cliches of teams circling the wagons and finding their soul in adversity.
However, Australia will be on a massive high after beating England despite being the biggest underdogs, and a few players might start to believe some of the hype – although I can’t see Joe Schmidt allowing that to happen.
Schmidt is contracted as Wallaby head coach for the Lions tour through to the 2027 World Cup, and he will have his eyes firmly fixed on those two targets. The victory over England will have given him and his team a confidence boost, and when you look at the quality of some of the athletes in the Australian squad, you can see why.
Credit to Schmidt for his gamble on Joseph Sua’ali’i, which paid off so handsomely on his Wallaby debut. Sua’ali’i is obviously a very gifted, talented player, and although there are no household names in the Australian backline yet, with the inspiration he brings that may change.
As for Wales, their backs are more or less all unknowns – which is a far cry from the backline earlier in Warren Gatland’s tenure that included such stars as Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, George North, Mike Phillips, Alex Cuthbert and Liam Williams.
When you look at Alun Wyn Jones’ side you remember virtually all the names, not only because they were talented, but also because they were serial winners. In fact, the Welsh teams in the era in around 2012-19 were the best I’ve seen since their golden days of the 1970s.
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