Wales suffered defeat to Australia in Sydney this morning in the first of two summer international Tests against the Wallabies.
Warren Gatland’s side had gone into the game on the back of seven straight defeats, having lost all of their matches at the Six Nations earlier this year and then falling to a 41-13 defeat at the hands of South Africa in June, and were unable to buck the trend against Australia.
In the first half their issues were rooted in the set pieces, and they struggled to make inroads in the scrum, but in the second it started to look a bit more frantic and they couldn’t find a way through the Australia line.
For the Wallabies, new head coach Joe Schmidt led them to victory having taken over after Eddie Jones led them to a humiliating elimination at the pool stage of the 2023 World Cup.
Both of these sides faced off in that tournament, with Wales running out 40-6 victors in September, though injuries and retirements mean that this time round, Gatland’s squad is weaker than he’d have liked heading into the tour.
Follow all the latest updates and reaction during the first test below, as well as all the reaction to New Zealand v England:
