The Wallabies’ grand slam dream is alive and kicking.
Eight days after they stole a famous victory at Twickenham, Australia powered past a hapless Wales in Cardiff despite the loss of Samu Kerevi to a 20-minute red card.
But rather than conceded while down a man, the Wallabies were able to find the defensive resolve to deny their hosts a single point during across the 20-minute stretch after halftime, and then roll their maul into two converted tries and a Tom Wright runaway for 21 points of their own.
Hooker Matt Faessler finished with a maiden Test match hat trick and a night to remember having earlier grabbed Australia’s second try, while Wright showed his attacking brilliance with a treble of his own.
The 52-20 victory means Australia are now just two wins away from a first grand slam since 1984, with Tests against Scotland and then Ireland to come.
For Wales, sadly, this was an embarrassing 11th straight defeat and coach Warren Gatland will come under even further pressure, if that is indeed possible.
As Wallabies great Tim Horan said on Stan Sport’s commentary, “Wales weren’t in the same post code.”
And they haven’t been for some time.
But after only narrow victories over Wales in two Tests earlier in the year in Australia, the growth in this Wallabies team under Joe Schmidt – both in execution and character — in Cardiff.
The Wallabies looked sensational inside the first 20 minutes at the Principality Stadium. Crisp ball movement, players in motion with Noah Lolesio calling the shots, the visitors built a 19-0 on the back of a run of possession when they starved Wales almost completely of the ball.
Wright was first on the scoresheet as he peeled around the corner off a Lolesio pass, the fly-half himself sweeping round the outside of Len Ikitau in a second-receiver role, before the fullback stepped back inside and gassed the cover to the tryline after 14 minutes.
Australia had their second after a robust defensive set where they shielded Wales to the left touchline, before Max Jorgensen, who had a busy first half, scooped up a loose offload and flicked the ball back inside to Ikitau, who in turn popped onto Nick Frost.
Anyone who had seen the try Frost scored with the Australia under 20s a few years back or more recently with the Brumbies in Super Rugby knew that the second-rower would be a good shot to sprint 55 metres and score, and that’s exactly what the lanky lock did, with Adam Wainwright unable to close any real distance.
When Faessler crossed from a Wallabies lineout drive on 21 minutes, Australia had built the dream start and near silenced the Principality Stadium crowd, the visitors seemingly on their way to a comfortable win in Cardiff.
But Wright’s knock-on from the restart changed everything.
The fullback’s only blemish on an otherwise polished 80-minute performance resulted in a huge swing of momentum; suddenly it was the Welsh ball-carriers slipping defenders, while they also had success going to the air through right winger Tom Rogers.
With a spring in their step, the hosts soon won reward from referee James Doleman and Australia could do little as Wales thundered away at their line and eventually got themselves on the board through Wainwright.
Two further penalties reduced the gap to just six points at the break, the hosts with all the momentum as they headed to the sheds with news that Kerevi’s yellow would be upgraded to a red still to come.
But it was Australia who managed the early stages of the second half the better, their accuracy at the collision earning pay from Doleman, with the territory and possession seeing Australia march upfield before Faessler rode another impressive eight-man drive for his second five-pointer of the match.
When the hooker crossed for his third, this time closer in towards the posts, Australia had restored a comfortable margin of 20 points and all but buried the hosts’ hope of snapping their losing run.
If that wasn’t confirmed with Faessler’s third, then it certainly was with a vital lineout steal from Lukhan Salakaia-Loto just as Wales threatened Australia’s 22. The Wallabies dominated the Welsh lineout, pinching several balls throughout the Test, but they did come under pressure at scrum time, with Angus Bell forced to return in the second half after his replacement James Slipper was injured.
Where Kerevi may have cruelled his chances of selection for next year’s British & Irish Lions Series – he will await judiciary news to see if he is scrubbed from next week’s Test with Scotland – his fellow overseas-based player Will Skelton issued a reminder of his value.
Skelton carried with authority, particularly in the lead-up to Faessler’s third try, while it is no surprise that the hooker scored a hat trick when the raw size and power of last year’s Rugby World Cup was there to help propel the maul forward.
The insult to Wales’ woes then came via a Wright intercept, the fullback picking off a pass from Sam Costeloe, glancing quickly back over his shoulder and then smiling all the way to the tryline to well and truly end the Test match.
When Wales should have climbed back into the match, even take it a stranglehold of it, they instead shipped 21 unanswered points.
Late five-pointers to Ikitau, who made a fool of Cameron Winnett with some sublime footwork, and Wright’s third following a smart dart from Tate McDermott, rounded out Australia’s record points haul against the Welsh.
Their spirit crushed by a record losing run, Wales resembled little more than cardboard cut-outs inside the closing five minutes. It looked like a training run for Australia at that stage.
What won’t be a midweek saunter is a clash with Scotland, whom Australia have lost three of their past four against, at a sold-out Murrayfield next weekend. The Wallabies may have won on their last trip to Edinburgh in 2022, but Scotland are a team that have routinely caused them issues dating back to the dramatic 2015 World Cup quarterfinal.
Fly-half Noah Lolesio, who enjoyed arguably his finest outing at Test level in the 32-point win, will have a huge part to play if Australia is to head to Dublin on the cusp of history in a fortnight’s time.
The Brumbies playmaker stamped his authority on Sunday night’s Test early when he twice took the ball to the line, before he played linked man in several other sweeping Wallabies moves and popped up back on the inside as ball-carrier too.
So often the target of criticism back at home, Lolesio is finally starting to build a body of work that suggests he really can be the long-term option for Australia at No. 10. It’s no surprise that it has come during a time when Schmidt has stood by the 24-year-old for all but two of 11 Tests this season.
Elsewhere for Australia, Andrew Kellaway provided his usual classy – and calm — touches out wide, while Rob Valetini was again a constant source of power and gainline up front. Back-rower Seru Uru, making his first run-on appearance in place of injured skipper Harry Wilson, was another to catch the eye.
The Wallabies also got great injections of energy off the bench through Salakaia-Loto, McDermott and Gleeson, while code-hopper Suaalii again showed his aerial prowess after he replaced Kerevi.
For the second straight week, it was hard to find a Wallabies player that endured a bad night, with Kerevi the obvious execption.
That is not something the game Down Under has been accustomed to and while the challenge increases significantly in the shape of Scotland, Australia have probably already exceeded expectations for this tour.
The mission now is to go on and achieve something truly memorable.
