Pressure on Wales to end losing sequence

Men’s world friendly: Australia v Wales

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne Date: Saturday, 13 July Kick off: 10:45 BST

Coverage: Listen connected BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, BBC Sounds, nan BBC Sport website and app, positive unrecorded matter commentary, followed by study and guidance connected nan BBC Sport website and app.

Head coach Warren Gatland says Wales are conscious of nan unit of stopping nan losing series and levelling nan bid against Australia successful Melbourne.

Last weekend's 25-16 first Test nonaccomplishment successful Sydney was an eighth successive world conclusion for Wales and they are wished to debar a ninth loss.

Another conclusion against nan Wallabies connected Saturday would beryllium 1 short of equalling Wales' record, a 10-game losing tally successful 2002 and 2003 nether New Zealander Steve Hansen.

Eight of nan 23 players successful Wales' inexperienced match-day squad this play person not won an international.

More nonaccomplishment and Gatland besides knows his position will travel nether expanding scrutiny.

He has conscionable a 30% occurrence complaint during his 2nd stint successful charge, pinch 14 defeats successful nan 20 games since he took complete from Wayne Pivac conscionable earlier nan 2023 Six Nations.

It is besides nan past world of nan play and Gatland knows nan value of finishing nan Test run connected a high.

"No pressure, is there," joked Gatland, earlier saying: "We've spoken astir that, nan players are really conscious astir that and talked astir nan importance.

"I've tried to opportunity that it [winning] takes attraction of itself by making judge nan processes are right.

"So alternatively than focusing connected nan win, conscionable make judge successful those large moments, we're calm. But everyone wants to get that win.

"We cognize wherever nan group of players are at. They request immoderate clip and experience, but I understand nan unit is connected to get immoderate results arsenic well."

Wales person not won an world since October 2023 erstwhile they defeated Georgia successful a World Cup excavation game.

Gatland's broadside vanished bottommost of this year's Six Nations for nan first clip since 2003 and person slumped to 11th successful nan world rankings, little than 5 years aft they topped them.

"One of nan things we've been talked about, and it's been mentioned by group extracurricular of our environment, is we consciousness we're successful a small spot of a backs-to-the-wall situation," said Gatland.

"It is really group respond, what are nan benignant of things you request to do individually and collectively erstwhile you're successful that situation.

"I've been pleased by nan measurement they person responded.

"There are disappointments and inaccuracies which person costs america successful games but I can't mobility nan effort.

"They person been an fantabulous group to activity pinch connected this tour.

"There has been a buzz and nan players person been affirmative and motivated to spell retired and deterioration nan jersey pinch pride."

Wales person mislaid acquisition since nan 2023 World Cup pinch George North, Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retiring from world rugby, pursuing nan likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Ken Owens, while Louis Rees-Zammit has switched sports to American Football.

Some of those players helped shape nan bedrock of Gatland's occurrence successful his first stint successful complaint betwixt 2008 and 2019, erstwhile he helped present 3 Grand Slams, 4 Six Nations titles and 2 World Cup semi-final appearances.

"With Wales sometimes, you've sewage to judge you'll person immoderate peaks and troughs," said Gatland.

"You don't want nan troughs to beryllium excessively agelong and you want to get retired of them arsenic quickly arsenic you can."

Gatland, 60, has turned to a bunch of rookie young players this twelvemonth arsenic Wales look towards processing a broadside for nan adjacent World Cup successful 2027.

"We decided arsenic a coaching group aft nan World Cup what we needed to do successful position of building this squad done to nan adjacent one," said Gatland.

"We saw a number of players leaving aliases retiring and location were changes made.

"We knew location was going to beryllium a spot of symptom on nan measurement arsenic we look to create those players.

"You can't coach experience, that often takes a spot of clip pinch players building done a number of caps.

"In nan past, we haven't had specified a turnover successful a young group we've had to negociate and develop. That's challenging but besides exciting."

Gatland hopes nan Welsh nationalist tin spot nan semipermanent strategy.

"Part of it is to effort and beryllium honorable successful nan communicative you're trying to create and communicating pinch people," said Gatland.

"This is what we've decided to do arsenic a group. The scheme for america was to put and person religion successful a young group we could bring done for nan adjacent fewer years."

Wales are besides without nan injured Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams and Adam Beard for nan Australia tour, while Josh Adams, Ryan Elias and Will Rowlands were rested.

"I honestly judge this is going to beryllium a really bully team," said Gatland.

"We cognize we've sewage immoderate players to travel backmost to springiness america much experience.

"When you commencement looking astatine that imaginable guardant battalion you tin put retired erstwhile they've had much clip together, you're excited by it."

That is for nan semipermanent future. Gatland knows conscionable a return to winning ways is what is required successful nan short-term this weekend.