Anyway ... thanks for joining me for all the excitement in Cardiff today. What a tense game! It tired me out just watching (and relentlessly typing). Until we meet again.
Here is Michael Aylwin’s report:
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones saluted his players for ending the losing run against Australia.
“It’s been a long time,” he said on BBC Two. “I think somebody reminded me I was the sole survivor from 2008. We’ve lost by many a fine margin and today, I’ll be honest, we won by a fine margin. I’m proud of the boys.”
Wales will meet Australia again in the pool stages of next year’s World Cup, but the skipper insisted this win would have little impact on that match.
“It’s a long time away the World Cup and there’s a lot of games to go,” he added.
Gatland on Halfpenny being taken out by Kerevi: “I think it warranted a penalty or yellow card.”
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Fair to say, that was pretty engrossing. It showed the small margins which make a difference at international level. No one even got close to scoring a try in Cardiff this evening.
The kicking could have been better from Halfpenny but he did just enough. Whereas, Australia passed up the chance to make a couple kicks for goal from penalties, which they must feel is pretty idiotic now, especially as their lineouts were pathetic throughout. Strange thinking from them.
Linda has been back in touch: “Its going to be a BIG night for the VALLEY GIRLS!!!!”
Cans of Brains for all!
The reporter gets Michael Hooper’s name wrong, believing he is David Pocock.
Hooper points out her mistake, then says: “Obviously that hurts. Our defence was immense tonight, it repelled a lot of what they threw at us.”
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Justin Tipuric tells BBC: “It’s a big result for us, we’ve wanted it for a while.
“Two great defences out there, we pride ourselves on defence and that has won us the game.”
Ooooof! That was tense. There wasn’t a massive amount of quality throughout but the win will be huge for Wales. It is their first in 14 attempts against the Wallabies.
The fact it was so gritty and they held on will mean the world for Wales. Those in red and yellow gave it their all today but Wales take the win by the finest of margins.
Full-time! Wales 9-6 Australia
What a win! What a battle!
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80+1 min: Australia move the ball quickly after getting it out of the scrum, but Wales were equal in the tackle. Australia were looking for the penalty through that phase of play but in the end the referee awards one to Wales!
80 min: A knock-on gives Australia a scrum just inside their own half. A big few seconds here ...
79 min: Wales are rightly slowing down play as much as possible. Australia had a lineout but sent it too long, again! They have been useless in lineouts today. Wales are putting in some big tackles to ensure Australia don’t get out of their half.
PENALTY! Wales 9-6 Australia (Biggar)
77 min: No mistake from Biggar: the calmest man in Cardiff thwacks it over the posts to give Wales the lead.
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76 min: Penalty to Wales! They were given the advantage but the referee brings it back for Hanigan not rolling away. A silly penalty to give away. He made no effort to move.
PENALTY! Wales 6-6 Australia (To’omua)
75 min: From a very tough angle on the right wing, To’omua steps up and calmly laces the ball through the sticks from the touchline.
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74 min: Halfpenny cleared the ball down the pitch with a big boot but he was utterly cleaned out by Kerevi but it wasn’t malicious, just a little bit incompetent at this level. Alun Wyn Jones argues the toss with the referee but all seems to have calmed down. No action taken. Anscombe is also down injured after Pocock gave him a knee to the head. Halfpenny is heading off, though.
72 min: Halfpenny runs back a long kick and made quite a few yards before being taken down. Anscombe then sends a big kick for Liam Williams to chase and he gets hold of it after some bungling from on the wing as two Australians collide. Sadly for Wales, they could not make the most of being in the 22 and Australia turn it over.
70 min: Jonathan Davies tried to send a ball out to the right but Folau was there to intercept. Then To’omua smashed the ball down the pitch and it went straight out of play beyond the in-goal area, so we’ve come back for a scrum a long way back.
PENALTY! Wales 6-3 Australia (Halfpenny)
68 min: From a very central position, Halfpenny shows he has recovered from a miserable first-half of kicking to send the ball through the posts to give Wales the lead!
Updated
66 min: Foley is off for Australia, with To’omua replacing him.
Wales have a lineout in a dangerous position and they manage to work it out from the left to the right, eventually winning a penalty for offside.
64 min: Owens steers the ruck towards the line, along with a number of colleagues but in the end it collapses and Australia get the put-in at a scrum following good work from Hooper.
Since the changes the scrum dynamic has changed a bit with Australia looking the stronger in there. The front rows fail to engage and they get a talking to from the ref as they try to work out to scrum. In the end Australia make it all work and clear the ball down the pitch.
62 min: Beale has just pointlessly sent two kicks straight down the middle of the pitch to the Wales backs. And then Wales sent it back twice. In the end Wales try to slip through a grubber to chase but Genia read it well and removed any immediate danger.
60 min: So many mistakes! Wales broke through the ranks, with Adams being taken down but Tomos Williams was straight in to reclaim it but only succeeded in knocking on. Oh well ...
Kepu and Simmon are also on for Australia, as Jenkins enters the fray for Wales.
58 min: The changes for Australia have made a instant impact in winning a scrum. That could be a gamechanger. The replacements have reinvigorated the Wallabies who looked dangerous until Hooper forgot to catch the ball and succumbed to a knock-on.
Tomos Williams is on at scrum-half for Wales, too.
56 min: Another failed lineout from Australia results in Wales clearing the ball long down the pitch, followed by a stunning chase.
In the end, the pressure on Australia shows as Wales gain a turnover.
Wales bring on Rob Evans, as Taniela Tupou and Tatafu-Polota-Nau come into the front row for Australia.
54 min: Haylett-Petty goes on his first run of the game, dodging a couple of tackles before being taken down 40-odd metres from the line. It was a sign of how dangerous the Australian counter can be in full flow.
Hooper is in the ear of the referee, claiming there has been a number of infringements in the 22. Will the official listen to him?
52 min: Some great teamwork from the Welsh forwards forces the Australians into a mistake, as Latu drops the ball to give away a knock-on. This is pretty lively.
50 min: Wales gave a penalty away through an offside near the halfway line, which Foley kicks for touch rather than goal. Just a little too far from him to potentially turn the chance into points.
A collapsed maul results in another penalty, this time in a far better kicking position. Foley, though, goes for the corner. Hmmm ...
48 min: More stunning work from Halfpenny as he sends a great kick down the pitch to relieve the danger. He got that spot on.
First changes for Wales as Tom Francis and George North are replaced by Dillon Lewis and Liam Williams. North looked like he had a problem with his thigh or thereabouts.
46 min: Halfpenny has started this half like a man possessed, he really wants to make amends for his errors before the interval. He could be the man to inspire Wales here.
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44 min: Pocock with more great defensive work to put an end to a Halfpenny run and then ensuring the full-back could not release, forcing him to give a penalty away. It could have been a very dangerous situation if it wasn’t for the No.8.
42 min: Great stuff from Halfpenny who chased an up and under, claiming it ahead of the Australians. That will give him a boost after a troubled first-half.
Adams absolutely smashed through a tackle of the left wing as Wales look to batter their way towards the try-line.
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Kick-off: Wales 3-3 Australia
Here we go again!
Geraint Thomas has been given a signed Wales shirt during the break. Let’s hope no one steals it.
Just a lot of mistakes at set-pieces in the first-half as penalties were missed, scrums collapsed and lineouts went awry. Less of that, please.
More from out target audience ...
I generally resent getting up at 4am.
@Will_Unwin i may regret getting up at 4am for this. Come on Wallabies, don’t choke 💚💛🇦🇺
— Katherine Grace (@Kaffy14) November 10, 2018
Use the break to read about the clash at Twickenham earlier ...
Half-time: Wales 3-3 Australia
All very even but Wales really should be ahead but Halfpenny has hit two awful penalties. Some aggressive play but not a huge amount of quality in the game but it is pretty engrossing to watch.
40 min: Silly from Latu to give away a penalty in a simple position for a kick, as he needlessly came in from the side after being warned.
Halfpenny had a simple 32m kick from relatively central but he sliced it wide. Pretty atrocious from the full back, really.
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38 min: Anscombe is looking in great nick with his boot, his latest kick floats a long way down the pitch to go out for a lineout in a dangerous position.
36 min: Naivalu came in off his wing to make the most of some fine work from his teammates, he looked like he might have broken the line but it was just caught.
Australia go again and take it up to the 10 metre line but a penalty is awarded when the Wallabies fail to release the ball.
PENALTY! Wales 3-3 Australia (Foley)
34 min: Foley hits the penalty from a central position between the sticks to a few cheers from the Aussies inside the Principality as the scores are levelled.
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32 min: Australia went for the simplest of lineouts after so many failed ones from both teams, allowing them to move over the halfway line. Folau tried to go through the Welsh line but they held firm.
Sadly for the Welsh, two players were offside, giving a penalty to Australia.
30 min: Joanne emails to confirm wha the Guardian target audience is: “I’m a valley girl living in Bristol - just like Linda I’m looking to share the love, and looking for a Southern Hemisphere win .... and a Northern Hemisphere win ..... go go go Wales ! “
28 min: The scrum is not too clean at the moment. The referee is moving it around to find some good ground but two have quickly collapsed but without the officials seeing anyone to blame. That is until the third when Sio brought it down to give Wales a penalty.
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26 mins: Foley tries to break through the line but is caught forcing him to offload. Australia, 10 yards out, looked like they were in try territory but Coleman took his eye off the ball and needlessly dropped it.
24 min: Gareth Davies with a big hit to stop Pocock in his tracks. That was a huge tackle in the middle of the pitch.
Linda is not trying to make friends with the English or Australians today, she emails in to say: “I’m a valley girl living in New Zealand. Share the love…a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere win. Go the All Blacks!! Go Wales!!”
PENALTY: Wales 3-0 Australia (Halfpenny)
22 min: Good work from Wales in the scrum earned them another penalty. On this occasion Halfpenny made no mistake and he sent the ball straight from the posts from 25 yards or so.
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20 min: Two poorly executed Welsh lineouts have resulted in the Wallabies stealing the ball. Ken Owens and Co really need to up their game, as they have had the ball in good positions and completely wasted it through some wild work.
18 min: The resulting scum collapses to give Wales a penalty, much to Cheika’s chagrin.
Wales send the ball downfield through Anscombe to earn his side a lineout in a good position on the right wing but the hosts lost the ball.
16 min: North tried to get through down the right from Pocock took him down and earned a turnover for Australia.
Hooper leads a break from a ruck but Australia failed to move the ball cleanly, ending with a penalty to the Wallabies due to a knock-on.
14 min: Halfpenny had a simple kick to give Wales the lead but missed from around 30 yards, as the ball slipped wide to the right.
12 min: The last few minutes has seen a more intense Wales come into the game and they are hitting the Wallabies hard. They are controlling the ball in the middle of the park, biding their time as they wait for a chance to send the ball out wide. Wales have a penalty for offside, which will kick.
10 min: Plenty of driving from the Welsh forwards here to put pressure on Australia. Eventually, a kick is sent out for Adams to chase down the wing but he just can’t get to it in time, as the ball heads out for a lineout.
8 min: Foley tries to cause confusion by sending up a high kick to just in front of the posts but Halfpenny read it easily and called the mark. The Welsh kick made it as far of the halfway from where the Australians ran it back but they gave away a penalty to allow the hosts to kick for a lineout down the pitch.
6 min: Australia look like the better side at the moment, they are playing at a higher tempo and Wales are struggling to cope and really need to up their game.
Updated
4 min: An Australia turnover allowed them to spread the play quickly to the left, eventually Kereva got the ball and had space to run into on the wing but Anscombe got the better of him with the Australian losing the ball rather than run in what looked like an inevitable try.
2 min: Australia worked well down the left wing, with some quick passing eventually curtailed by North who knocked on when he intercepted to give the Wallabies a scrum.
Kick-off!
Let’s get ready to rumble!
An impeccably oberserved minute’s self is ended by a bugle and loud cheers from all around. Now let’s play some rugby!
There are plenty of members of the armed forces on the pitch for a pre-match Armistice ceremony, including some from the Australian military.
It was Bonfire Night last week but there’s no shortage of pyrotechnics. The players are out on the pitch!
Sam Warburton backs Gatland’s decision to select Anscombe over Biggar as he fancies a bit of consistency in the side. Will it work?
Michael Cheika has no worries about being the underdog this week.
He said:
You’ve always got to look at the 80 minutes ahead of you and everything else is conjecture and small talk. It’s great for the punter at a café or bar, that’s what the game is for. You get a lot of interest in it.
But I see the bookies don’t see it’s any issue, so we don’t mind running as an underdog. Don’t worry about us. We’ll enjoy that status – not that I’m a gambling man or anything like that – and get down to Cardiff. A great atmosphere, we love playing down there.”
Biggar and Liam Williams are available but Warren Gatland has stuck with those who served him well against Scotland.
Warren Gatland said:
We wanted some continuity from last week as well as rewarding players who did well for us in the summer.
We know Liam’s capabilities and this will give us a good opportunity to look at Josh and, while we are aware of Dan’s qualities, we did not want to put Gareth back on the bench after one game. Adam Beard is 6ft 8in and 19st, player of the future who has real skills in a position where we want to create strength. We want to see how he performs at the next level.I have had frank conversations with players who have not been selected. It is not about creating media hype about someone not being picked but building for the next 10 months.
We have one of the strongest benches we have had for a long time. There is some experience there and we talked about the importance of the impact of the replacements. Many of the defeats to Australia happened because we were not clinical in the last few minutes. The match is definitely important in terms of confidence, with Australia the biggest opponents in our World Cup pool next year and we have to manage expectations.”
I don’t think Wales have had a better chance to beat the Wallabies in a while, considering they’ve lost the previous 13 meetings. The Welsh look in decent form and have plenty in support on the bench.
Anyway, I am sure you do not want to listen to me go on about England. We are here for Wales and Australia. It should be a cracker in Cardiff.
It’s ended in London, with New Zealand winning 16-15 at Twickenham. Ooooof!
We can only hope whatever we are about to see in Cardiff is as exciting as what we are witnessing at Twickenham. It’s a lively finish between England and New Zealand ... but it looks like the All Blacks will hold on.
Australia have had a tricky 12 months, as Paul Rees reports ...
Teams: Wales v Australia
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams; Gareth Anscombe, Gareth Davies; Nicky Smith, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis; Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (C); Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty.
Subs: Elliot Dee, Rob Evans, Dillon Lewis, Cory Hill, Ellis Jenkins, Tomos Williams, Dan Biggar, Liam Williams.
Australia: Dane Haylett-Petty; Israel Folau, Samu Kerevi, Kurtley Beale, Sefa Naivalu; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; Scott Sio, Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa; Izack Rodda, Adam Coleman; Jack Dempsey, Michael Hooper, David Pocock.
Subs: Tatafu-Polota-Nau, Sekope Kepu, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Ned Hanigan, Nick Phipps, Matt To’omua, Jack Maddocks.
Roll up!
Here we are as Wales hope to end a pretty dismal run against Australia. It has been a tough year for the Wallabies and it culminates in Cardiff today. Australia sit sixth in the world rankings, a position they will not want to make their own for the long term. Since defeating Wales at the same venue last year it’s been a pretty miserable 12 months, which has seen nine losses in 12 matches.
The last 13 games between the two countries have resulted in Australia wins, a trend that Wales will be optimistic they can finally halt. Last week they got the better of Scotland at the same venue and are in a pretty confident mood in general. There is strength on the bench with Dan Biggar and Liam Williams both being recalled having missed the win over Scotland, as Warren Gatland keeps a little extra up his sleeve. They are probably not going to get a better chance of defeating the Wallabies and it will be a fascinating evening as we find out.
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