The Same Old Story

If I'd written an article for the game last year, I could have copied and pasted it and very few people would have noticed. The ref, the stadium, the result, and the story none of these changed. In fact the only thing that did change was the Wallaby team, a raft of new faces compared to the team that played Wales last Autumn. The headline makers being James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale being forced out of the squad. Only to be replaced by Quade Cooper and Israel Folau, not a bad set of replacements my eyes. The Welsh team stayed very much the same, a few knocks here and there left some players out but not enough to make excuses for. Yet, as always the result was the same the Australians won, but only just.


Wales have yet again run the Southern Hemisphere side close, only four points in it at 26-30. Towards the end of the game in fact it was the Australians who were clinging on not the Welsh. However, if Welsh fans are completely honest, Australia should have been out of sight. They create so many opportunities, mostly through the hands of the brilliant Quade Cooper, but didn't finish half of them. When the Aussies went two scores ahead it really could have been four or five scores, but Wales were spared.

The Welsh did fight back and showed a great deal of character in doing so, when George North crashed over the look on its face summed up the feeling of a nation. A mixture of joy, desperation and relief that Wales were back in this game. Apart from Cooper, George North was the stand out player, switching to centre halfway through the second half. Watch out for that tactic in the upcoming Six Nations, starting on the wing but switching inside to confuse defences, especially if the first choice centres are still missing.

It was a fantastic test match and a great way to round off what has been (barring on game against Tonga) a very entertaining Autumn. Entertaining but not fulfilling for Wales, they targeted three from four so they have failed by their own standards. However, there are positives, a lot of new caps, a lot of new experience against the teams that really count. Liam Williams, Cory Allen, Hallam Amos, Rhrodri Williams and Scott Williams are now ready to step up to the plate at Six Nations level. Not bad for an Autumns work.

The focus now goes back to Heineken Cup and Club Rugby, but not for the Welsh. The Wales squad will have one goal between now and February; a record three Six Nations wins in a row. They want to make history, and which Northern Hemisphere side says they can't.