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‘A non-negotiable’: Owen Watkin labels Wallabies clash a must-win for Wales
By Finn Morton
Centre Owen Watkin believes it’s a “non-negotiable” for Wales to beat Australia in Melbourne on Saturday, with Warren Gatland’s men hoping to snap a disastrous losing run that spans back to last year’s Rugby World Cup.
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Wales were well and truly in the fight during last weekend’s series opener against the Wallabies in Sydney, with just two points separating the teams after a 65th-minute penalty goal from three-Test flyhalf Ben Thomas.
Australia and the Welsh have played out some epic Test matches over the years, but Wallabies fans will remember an era of dominance in the head-to-head battle. From November 28, 2009, to 11 November 2017, the Aussies didn’t lose to one of their great rivals.
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Unfortunately, for Welsh fans up in the early hours of Saturday morning, it was a similar story that played out at Allianz Stadium with fullback Tom Wright scoring a stunning solo try with just over 10 minutes to play. Debutant Tom Lynagh iced the match with a clutch conversion.
It was another one that got away for Wales, with the 25-16 defeat seeing their losing run extend to eight matches. With only one more Test match to play before they break for their off-season, the visitors are both motivated and eager to end their season on a high.
“Obviously, as a squad, we were massively disappointed with the result. We went into the game fully believing we could win and I think we left a lot of opportunities out there,” outside centre Owen Watkin told reporters on Tuesday.
“We obviously weren’t happy with the penalty count and the error count from us as a team but still a massive positive vibe in the squad.
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“It’s sort of a non-negotiable, we need to win on Saturday.
“We put ourselves into a positive to win that game on the weekend and obviously our discipline and our error count let us down.”
Nine months is a long, long time in international rugby. When the full-time whistle sounded at Lyon’s OL Stadium last October, Wallabies players dropped their heads while their Welsh rivals celebrated a mammoth 40-6 win.
Australia went on to miss the knockout rounds of a men’s Rugby World Cup for the first time while Wales played Argentina in the quarters. But with three-quarters of a year having come and gone since then, both teams are looking to grow.
Wales have a relatively young squad to choose from, while the Aussies turned to seven debutants last time out to kick-start their new era under coach Joe Schmidt. One difference, with the World Cup in the rearview mirror, the Wallabies have found a way to win.
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Back in the winner’s circle, Australia may have a renewed sense of confidence and belief in themselves, but it’s not like that’s playing on the minds of the Welsh players as they focus on getting their preparation right.
“For us, we just focus on ourselves,” Watkin said.
“They can be as confident as they want but it’s down to us putting the work in this week and really be confident going into the game that knowing we had opportunities to win that game, we just fell short.
“You’d like to think that this weekend that doesn’t happen.”
Australia will get better with another week under Joe Schmidt. Wales will get worse with another week under Gatland.
A must win. Sure.
A will win? No. Aussies will take this and will be the surprise package at the RC.
Joe’s influence is looking positive. And Aussies are, well, Aussies are Aussies. Always strong competititors.