'I spoke to Joe Schmidt after the game, he felt they got away with one'

Wales attack coach Alex King says his side are “desperately hoping” to end their Australia tour on a high against Queensland Reds on Friday.

The Wallabies condemned Wales to a ninth successive Test defeat in Melbourne on Saturday, winning 36-28 to secure a 2-0 series win.

Former England and Wasps fly-half King, appointed to Warren Gatland’s backroom team in early 2023, said the Welsh wanted to end “a monumental year” with a morale-boosting victory at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Rassie Erasmus explaining that it is not a B team facing Portugal

Rassie Erasmus explaining that it is not a B team facing Portugal

King said: “We are desperately hoping for a good performance firstly and then obviously finishing with a good result, finish off what’s been a monumental year for all the lads.

“It started in June 2023 and it’s gone through a World Cup, Six Nations, loads of changes, and we want to end the tour on a real high.

“Two big training days to get things right and really looking forward to the challenge on Friday.”

Wales, beaten 41-13 by South Africa at Twickenham in June, lost the opening Test against Australia 25-16 in Sydney, while their last Test match win was against Georgia in a pool game at the 2023 World Cup nine months ago.

Earlier this year Gatland’s side finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 21 years, but they responded with four tries against the Wallabies at the weekend and King insisted there were clear signs of improvement.

He said: “The results haven’t gone our way, we’re under no illusions about that, but performance-wise I thought there was a real step up on Saturday.

“I spoke to (Australia head coach) Joe Schmidt after the game, he felt they got away with one, Australia, and I think the biggest learning for us is to understand what it takes to win a Test match.

“The positive from our point of view is the huge improvement in certain areas.

“But if you look at three of their (four) tries at the weekend, they were all moments where we weren’t quite on it, if that makes sense.

“They were opportunities for the Australia team and we didn’t quite nail those moments and that’s the frustrating thing.

“We created a huge amount of opportunities ourselves, but we gave away too many easy points and that’s the frustrating thing.

“So the learning for the group is that comes with experience and the only way your going to get experience is by playing.

“It’s tough at the moment, but the guys will come out of this tour far better prepared for the Autumn than before it.”

Wales’ next Test match is against Fiji in Cardiff in November before further Autumn Tests against Australia and world champions South Africa.