Wales 20-52 Australia: Wallabies inflict record defeat as Warren Gatland faces mounting pressure

Wales have suffered a record eleventh consecutive defeat after losing 52-20 to Australia on Sunday evening.

Head coach Warren Gatland is now facing a tidal wave of pressure as an almost half-empty Principality Stadium saw out the final throes of a dismal 80 minutes.

The Wallabies dictated the early running in Cardiff and crossed through Samu Kerevi after 10 minutes. But the juggernaut centre was held up by a desperate piece of defence from Tom Rogers.

Joe Schmidt's side opened the scoring five minutes later. After some stubborn defence from the hosts on the edge of their own 22, full-back Tom Wright stepped inside Blair Murray and raced away to score the games first try.

With Wales struggling to find a rhythm, the Wallabies landed a real body blow. Wales attacked on the far side but lost control of the ball. Lock Nick Frost galloped 50 metres up the field to score near the posts and Noah Lolesio added the extras.

A flurry of penalties followed and Australia found themselves with a lineout five metres out from the Welsh line. Hooker Matt Faessler had the ball in his hands when the maul rolled over the try line. Lolesio nailed the conversion and at 19-0 after 22 minutes, the game felt over as a contest.

Then came a lifeline. Australia dropped the restart, giving Wales their first real foothold. After a powerful scrum, wing Murray burst into the 22. Some strong carries from the forwards edged closer to the line and eventually Aaron Wainwright bundled his way over. Anscombe converted to chip away at the deficit.

Anscombe's boot did more damage in the minutes that followed. He reduced the deficit to nine after a no-arms tackle from Angus Bell and then down to six when the Wallabies strayed offside around 40 metres out.

After being blown away in the opening quarter, a young Welsh side battled their way back into the match and went in at half trailing by 13 points to 19.

Things got even better for Warren Gatland's side when Samu Kerevi was sent to the sin bin early in the second half for a high tackle on flanker Jac Morgan.

But it was the Wallabies who continue to control things and would score 21 points whilst a man short.

Welsh indiscipline gave them another five metre lineout. Which resulted in the rolling maul once again carrying Faessler over the line.

Before the restart, referee James Doleman confirmed that Kerevi's yellow card had been upgraded to a 20-minute red card, a new law being trialled in the autumn series.

More Welsh indiscipline would prove costly as they once again gifted Australia prime field position and Faessler completed his hat-trick. Lolesio's conversion suddenly opened up the visitors' biggest lead of the game.

The hosts looked to have hit back after James Botham picked up a loose pass with one hand and proceeded to shrug Wright off as he headed over the line. But the TMO intervened and deemed the final pass to have been forward, wiping off the score.

Then came the disaster. Sam Costelow, on for Gareth Anscombe, saw his pass picked off by Wright, who raced 65 metres to end the game as a contest.

As proceedings ticked into the final 10 minutes, Ben Thomas crossed to give fans something to cheer about but there was never a sense that it might spark an heroic comeback.

By the time Len Ikitau crossed for Australia's seventh try fans were streaming out of the exits. They missed the Wallabies' eighth.

The Principality Stadium, once a fortress, was only half full to see the closing moments of Welsh rugby's newest low.