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Joseph Suaalii in huge twist as Wallabies overcome 'terrible' farce in record Wales thrashing

The Wallabies are halfway towards completing the coveted 'grand slam'.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read

Joseph Suaalii appears likely to come straight back into the Wallabies' starting side, with Samu Kerevi facing suspension after being red-carded in Australia's record mauling of Wales on Sunday. Matt Faessler and Tom Wright both scored hat-tricks as the Wallabies consigned Wales to their 11th-straight loss with a 52-20 thumping in Cardiff.

The Wallabies are now halfway towards the coveted 'grand slam' on their British Isles tour after sending Warren Gatland's men to their longest losing streak in history. Nick Frost and Len Ikitau also got on the board for the Wallabies in the eight-try-to-two romp, with Welsh fans booing the players off the field at the end.

Joseph Suaalii and Samu Kerevi during the Wallabies and Wales clash.
Joseph Suaalii is likely to come back into the Wallabies' starting side if Samu Kerevi is suspended. Image: TNT Sports/Getty

Not even a yellow card for Kerevi, which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card, could stop the rot as the Wallabies ran rampant. With Kerevi facing a possible suspension, Suaalii looks destined to come back into the starting line-up after being moved back to the bench despite his heroics against England.

But the decision to upgrade Kerevi's punishment to a 20-minute red didn't go down well with Wallabies fans, with many pointing out that Wales got away with a number of other high shots. Fans flocked to social media to bemoan the call, which left the Wallabies down to 14 men for a large chunk.

Not that it mattered, with Joe Schmidt's men surging in the face of adversity. Suaalii was brought on near the end of the game, but didn't see much action.

The result keeps Australia on track to emulate the 1984 grand slam-winning Wallabies side, who swept past all four home nations, with Tests against Scotland and Ireland to come. "That was an awesome 80-minute performance," said man-of-the-match Wright. "Ebbs and flows, we gave a lot of momentum to Wales at stages, we made it difficult for ourselves, but those are games you like to be a part of."

As for Gatland, the veteran coach admitted he would back any decision for change, even if it means he loses his job. "I do it because I love being involved in the game," he said. "I have so many good memories with Wales and am incredibly proud of what we've achieved. This is challenging at the moment. I'm only human so I ask myself if it's the right thing to do. But I'm happy doing it."

Joseph Suaalii in action for the Wallabies against Wales.
Joseph Suaalii was relegated to the bench in his second game for the Wallabies. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Tom Wright.
Tom Wright scored a hat-trick as the Wallabies beat Wales 52-20. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

With a six-day turnaround before facing a daunting fixture against double world champions South Africa, Gatland said: "I don't know. There's so much negativity around the game in terms of what's been happening on the field and regionally wise and financial and stuff.

"Whatever the best decision for us to make a change, to get some positivity in the game, you know, I'd support that 100 per cent so if that means me, then I'm comfortable. But I definitely still want to be a part of it."

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Wales captain Dewi Lake said the team were "disappointed with the run that we're on, with the result today". He added: "We want to win games. We train hard, we work hard to win games, but we're not there yet. We show we're a team with weapons when we have the ball, but we need to stop other teams with the ball. Fifty points (conceded) tonight, we need to improve."

with agencies