Wales face Australia in Sydney this morning in the first of two summer international Tests against the Wallabies.
Warren Gatland’s side come into the game off 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 they face an Australia team who have had similarly poor fortunes of late, with new head coach Joe Schmidt taking 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:
Australia 0-3 Wales, 6 minutes
How important is the 9, 10, 12 Cardiff combination going to be? That club understanding could come in useful for this largely inexperienced Wales team.
Australia have a penalty, Wales came in from the side, it’s not far away from the line, but they have kicked for the line out instead of going for the posts.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 11:03
Australia 0-3 Wales, 3 minutes
Wales have not taken the scrum, instead they go for the point, it was for a miss-timed tackle.
Thomas, the sixth starting fly half of the Warren Gatland era, hits his first kick of the match, it wasn’t an easy one, it was quite far out and down the left hand side, but that went straight between the posts!
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 11:01
Australia 0-0 Wales
2 minutes: The opening line-out for Wales was well controlled, and they make good ground against an organised Australia team, but Thomas kicks high and the runner can’t get there.
The game will be brought back for a scrum, the first of the match.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 11:00
Australia 0-0 Wales
Wales kick the game underway, Ben Thomas with the kick in the number 10 shirt.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:58
Australia v Wales
National anthems are done, and the match is about to get underway!
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:56
Australia v Wales
The players are making their way out onto the field, and lining up for the national anthems.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:51
Australia v Wales
The players are in their pre-match huddles in the changing room and are just getting to make their way onto the field for the first match of a two-Test series in Australia.
This one, the first one, is at the Allianz Arena in Sydney.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:48
Australia v Wales
This is going to be a big day for Aaron Wainwright, who will be awarded his 50th cap for Wales.
While the country is trying to figure out how to fill the role left by Tomas Francis who moved to Provence after the 2023 World Cup.
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:44
Australia v Wales
The match will kick off in just 10 minutes time, but there have been a lot of changes in Australian Rugby after the World Cup last autumn so no one is too sure what to make of this side.
From a Wales perspective, they will sense an opportunity to secure their first win in the country since 1969
Sonia Twigg6 July 2024 10:39
Australia v Wales
Both sides completed their captain’s run at the Allianz Arena in Sydney yesterday in preparation for this morning’s clash.
Luke Baker6 July 2024 10:32
