Pressure on Wales to end losing sequence

Warren Gatland was British and Irish Lions head coach for three tours

Men’s international friendly: Australia v Wales

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

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary, followed by report and reaction on the BBC Sport website and app.

Head coach Warren Gatland says Wales are conscious of the pressure of stopping the losing sequence and levelling the series against Australia in Melbourne.

Last weekend's 25-16 first Test loss in Sydney was an eighth successive international defeat for Wales and they are determined to avoid a ninth loss.

Another defeat against the Wallabies on Saturday would be one short of equalling Wales' record, a 10-game losing run in 2002 and 2003 under New Zealander Steve Hansen.

Eight of the 23 players in Wales' inexperienced match-day squad this weekend have not won an international.

More failure and Gatland also knows his position will come under increasing scrutiny.

He has just a 30% success rate during his second stint in charge, with 14 defeats in the 20 games since he took over from Wayne Pivac just before the 2023 Six Nations.

It is also the last international of the season and Gatland knows the importance of finishing the Test campaign on a high.

"No pressure, is there," joked Gatland, before saying: "We've spoken about that, the players are really conscious about that and talked about the importance.

"I've tried to say that it [winning] takes care of itself by making sure the processes are right.

"So rather than focusing on the win, just make sure in those big moments, we're calm. But everyone wants to get that win.

"We know where the group of players are at. They need some time and experience, but I understand the pressure is on to get some results as well."

Adversity in defeat

Wales have not won an international since October 2023, when they defeated Georgia in a World Cup pool game.

Gatland's side finished bottom of this year's Six Nations for the first time since 2003 and have slumped to 11th in the world rankings, less than five years after they topped them.

"One of the things we've been talked about, and it's been mentioned by people outside of our environment, is we feel we're in a little bit of a backs-to-the-wall situation," said Gatland.

"It is how people respond, what are the sort of things you need to do individually and collectively when you're in that situation.

"I've been pleased by the way they have responded.

"There are disappointments and inaccuracies which have cost us in games but I can't question the effort.

"They have been an excellent group to work with on this tour.

"There has been a buzz and the players have been positive and motivated to go out and wear the jersey with pride."

Youth replaces experience

Wales have lost experience since the 2023 World Cup with George North, Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retiring from international rugby, following the 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 form the bedrock of Gatland's success in his first stint in charge between 2008 and 2019, when he helped deliver three Grand Slams, four Six Nations titles and two World Cup semi-final appearances.

"With Wales sometimes, you've got to accept you'll have some peaks and troughs," said Gatland.

"You don't want the troughs to be too long and you want to get out of them as quickly as you can."

Gatland, 60, has turned to a bunch of rookie young players this year as Wales look towards developing a side for the next World Cup in 2027.

"We decided as a coaching group after the World Cup what we needed to do in terms of building this team through to the next one," said Gatland.

"We saw a number of players leaving or retiring and there were changes made.

"We knew there was going to be a bit of pain along the way as we look to develop those players.

"You can't coach experience, that often takes a bit of time with players building through a number of caps.

"In the past, we haven't had such a turnover in a young group we've had to manage and develop. That's challenging but also exciting."

Long-term plan and missing men

Gatland hopes the Welsh public can see the long-term strategy.

"Part of it is to try and be honest in the narrative you're trying to create and communicating with people," said Gatland.

"This is what we've decided to do as a group. The plan for us was to invest and have faith in a young group we could bring through for the next few years."

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

"I honestly believe this is going to be a really good team," said Gatland.

"We know we've got some players to come back to give us more experience.

"When you start looking at that potential forward pack you can put out when they've had more time together, you're excited by it."

That is for the long-term future. Gatland knows just a return to winning ways is what is required in the short-term this weekend.