- Aussies smashed home side 52-20 in Cardiff
- Huge feat looms for coach Joe Schmidt’s team
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt says he won’t even ‘contemplate’ recording a first grand slam success in 40 years after toppling Wales in record fashion to make it two wins from two games on the UK tour with 96 points in the bag.
The only lowlight in the 52-20 thumping in Cardiff was a red card for ‘distraught’ Samu Kerevi, with a possible suspension set to open the door for NRL convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to return to the starting line-up for clash three against Scotland in Edinburgh.
Schmidt was quick to put the victory, the biggest for the Wallabies against Wales, in Wales, in the 116-year history of clashes between the two countries, into perspective after Hooker Matt Faessler and fullback Tom Wright both scored hat-tricks against the battling hosts.
Wales had lost 10 games in a row before the clash, including two to the Wallabies in Australia in July, both much closer affairs, and Schmidt knows the task will be tougher in Scotland as his team looks to become the first Aussie outfit since 1984 to defeat England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the one tour.
‘Too far away to contemplate,’ Schmidt said.
‘We have talked about regenerating well tonight and and making sure we don’t miss our flight to Edinburgh, get the front half of the week right and and see what comes in the back half of the week.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt (pictured right with star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii just before the clash with Wales) is desperate not to get ahead of himself after the stunning win in Cardiff
Schmidt is trying to keep a lid on the possibility of his team recording the nation’s first grand slam in 40 years after a hat-trick by Tom Wright (pictured) helped them smash the Welsh. You can catch all the action from rugby’s Autumn Nations Series live and exclusive on Stan Sport
‘I have massive respect for Scotland. They will be very tough. I have no doubt we have to go up again against Scotland.
‘They’ve had a really good autumn so far, they were very competitive in the Six Nations, obviously beating England in a cracking game.’
The Wallabies have scored 96 points in two Tests so far, wins against England then Wales, and Schmidt now has a 6-5 win-loss record in his 11 Tests since taking over.
Victory over Wales came after storming to a 19-0 lead, before the hosts raced back to get within six points at half-time.
Schmidt said the ‘banana skin got pretty slippery ‘ at that stage but lauded the composure of his men who have confidence growing with every win.
‘I thought the composure was really good,’ Schmidt said.
‘Because at 19-13, you can start to feel you’re suffocating and I thought we lost our shape, even towards the end of the first half. We got a bit ragged.
‘It was to get some momentum back in that second half and I felt in the last quarter we put some good stuff together again.’
The only downside to the whopping win was a red card for star inside centre Samu Kerevi in his first Wallabies Test since last year’s ill-fated World Cup campaign.
He was given his marching orders for a high shot on Welsh flanker Jac Morgan and could potentially miss one if not both of the remaining spring tour matches
Kerevi’s absence should open the door for Suaalii, who laid a similar shot on the Welsh player after coming off the bench in his second Test, to return to the starting line-up against Scotland.
‘He is distraught. 50th game for the Wallabies and he gets a red card. He was trying to drop into the tackle, I thought,’ Schmidt said.
‘We will look at that closely, and potentially ask some questions through the right channels.’
