Francis features in Welsh win

By Mark Stevens
11/11/18

Exeter Chiefs prop Tomas Francis helped Wales end their long losing run against Australia at the 14th attempt as replacement Dan Biggar’s late penalty gave them a 9-6 victory in Cardiff.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny missed two easy first-half penalties that looked to have derailed Welsh hopes of a first victory over the Wallabies since 2008.

But Halfpenny, the third-highest scorer in Welsh international rugby history behind Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones with more than 700 points, managed two successful strikes off the tee before Biggar came up trumps.

Halfpenny was off the pitch, having been felled by a high tackle, which meant Biggar assumed kicking duties as he edged Wales home after Bernard Foley and Matt Toomua kicked penalties for Australia.

The Wallables’ defeat will now turn up the heat on head coach Michael Cheika as they suffered an eighth loss from their last 10 matches.

But whilst Australia were left to reflect on defeat, Wales head coach Warren Gatland hailed his side’s performance.

"Our composure towards the end was good," said Gatland. "But there was no composure from me, I was struggling the last few minutes. I was thinking 'here we go, deja vu, we're going to lose in the last minute', but fairness to the boys they dug deep. It's always nice to get a win against a southern hemisphere team."

Wales have now notched up seven consecutive wins, for the first time since the 2004/5 season, having opened their autumn campaign with a 21-10 victory over Scotland. They go on to face Tonga and South Africa.

"The squad's in a great place at the moment and we're building really nicely for the next 10 months. We're in a good place," Gatland said, adding that the side to face the Tongans would be much changed as the quest for ever-more strength in depth carries on.

Gatland had said before the game that his selection, with little tinkering after the Scotland game and a bench boasting an impressive 180 caps, had all been about closing down the final quarter and handing valuable playing time to players who might not be regulars, such as fly-half Gareth Anscombe and winger Josh Adams.

And so it proved, with summer tour co-captains Cory Hill and Ellis Jenkins both enjoying excellent cameos off the bench.

"I thought the bench was great," the New Zealander said, "Dan (Biggar) coming on and kicking a pressure kick to give us the win. The bench gave us some real impetus. It's the strongest bench we've put out."

Wales and Australia will clash on September 29, 2019, at Tokyo Stadium in what many reckon will be the game that decides the winner of a Rugby World Cup Pool D that also includes Fiji, Georgia and Uruguay.

Gatland admitted there was a "lot at stake" in the coming year with competition for places at its highest for some time ahead of the Six Nations and the World Cup itself.

"We feel we're in a really good place as a group," he said. "We're really looking forward to the next year. There's some real momentum, seven in a row, and so that brings something with it as well, a bit of pressure because players who take the field next week know they've got to go out there and perform."