Joseph Suaalii in huge twist as Wallabies rocked by 'terrible' blow in record Wales thrashing
The Wallabies are halfway towards completing the coveted 'grand slam', and a huge opportunity has opened up for Suaalii.
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.
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 the Wallabies, 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.
Wallabies coach left fuming over Samu Kerevi decision
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said: "We're pretty disappointed with that decision around Samu, and we'll have a look at that. It's pretty tough for Samu to be sent off in that tackle. He is distraught. Fiftieth game for the Wallabies and he gets a red card.
"He was trying to drop into the tackle, I thought. We were surprised that there was no mitigation, particularly because Jac (Morgan) played on, and there was no ping on his mouthguard, so it was then described as high danger. We will look at that closely, and potentially ask some questions through the right channels."
Many pointed out another incident in which Wallabies' halfback Nic White was hit high by Ellis Bevan, which looked comparable to the Kerevi hit but ended with no card. Not that it mattered, with 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."
Terrible inconsistency in rugby union.
— Bruce Laidlaw (@bruce_laidlaw) November 17, 2024
That’s a disgrace, games gone soft and by those rules then why is a shoulder to the head not a yellow for Wales! Still getting their ar*e whupped against 14 though 🤣🤣
— ⚽️🥊Trust No One🥊🏉 (@macmisanthrope) November 17, 2024
And yet not a single yellow for a Welsh man....
— hawickster (@hawickster) November 17, 2024
No mitigation? Apart from the fact that both players were crouched and if the ball carrier was standing straight it’s a shot into the lower chest.
Making it up as they go along.— Anthony Creasey (@anthonycreasey) November 17, 2024
Red is Harsh!!
— Golf mad Saffa (@NColeske) November 17, 2024
Warren Gatland facing the sack amid embarrassing Wales run
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."
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
