RUGBY : Wales backs coach Rob Howley has described Saturday’s Millennium Stadium clash against Australia as “a defining game.”
Wales backs coach Rob Howley has described Saturday’s Millennium Stadium clash against Australia as “a defining game.”
Victory over the Wallabies for a second successive season at home would send Wales into the 2010 RBS 6 Nations Championship with high hopes they could mount a significant title challenge. Having beaten Samoa and Argentina on the back of a battling display in defeat against New Zealand, Wales are anxious for a successful autumn Test finale.
“We need to step up from the Argentina performance,” said former Wales captain Howley. “We need to do that at the contact area, especially from a technical point of view. Our accuracy was disappointing and we had opportunities, but on occasions our handling let us down.”
He added: “We scored three tries against Argentina and have just gone above them in the world rankings to sixth, so that is another improvement for us.
“This is now a defining game against Australia. Everyone realises we beat them last year, and we would like to think we are favourites.
“We beat them 21-18 last year, and we go into the game knowing we need to find another level if we are to repeat that.
“We are expecting a huge game, and it is really the clash of the autumn series from our perspective.
“We want to go into the Six Nations with momentum and confidence.”
