Australia will be looking to cap off a disappointing tour of the northern hemisphere by bagging their first win of the trip when they take on a Welsh side that will be in the doldrums emotionally after they suffered an embarrassing defeat to Georgia this past weekend.
Saturday 25 November
Wales 71/100 | Draw 20/1 | Australia 12/10
Handicap
Wales (-2.5) 9/10 | Australia (+2.5) 9/10
We should be in for a fiery old affair at the Principality Stadium as both the tourists and the hosts have suffered two highly embarrassing defeats in recent weeks
The Wallabies’ shock loss came against Italy two weeks ago as they went down by a point to the Azzurri in Rome. While that loss did spark a fire in their belly, the Wallabies were unable to bounce back with a win going down 13-10 to Ireland at the Aviva last Saturday.
There were a number of positives for Dave Rennie and his coaching crew to take out of that narrow loss to Ireland with Mark Nawaqanitawase and Tom Banks excelling on the wings while Jordan Petaia also impressed as an early substitution for the injury-plagued Hunter Paisami.
While Australia could draw on some positives, Wales really had nothing to take solace in after last weekend’s debacle. The Dragons were outmuscled and outplayed by the Georgians, and while they did ring a couple of changes for the fixture it must still be worrying for Dragons fans that their side have suffered yet another defeat at the hands of a seemingly minnow outfit after their 6 Nations loss earlier in the year.
I know I’m going to get crucified for this but I think the Wallabies are improving despite having their worst Test year in ages. I reckon Rennie’s men will finish the year on a high at the Principality this Saturday.
