Where did it go wrong for Wales in the July Internationals
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It has been almost a year since Warren Gatland's side started one of the longest seasons in history with a 20-9 win against England in a World Cup warm-up match on the first weekend of August.
The curtain was brought down in mid-July with a 36-28 defeat against Australia in Melbourne.
Wales might have produced their finest display of a desperate 2024 but could not stop the Wallabies wrapping up the series 2-0.
Gatland after the second test
So where did it go wrong for Wales?
Wales started the season ninth in the world rankings and finished 11th, their lowest ever position as they dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since they were first published in 2003.
Gatland's side have played 16 Tests during the campaign with 11 defeats and five victories.
The losses have been against England (twice), South Africa (twice), Australia (twice), Argentina, Ireland, France, Scotland and Italy.
Four of the wins came in the World Cup against Fiji, Australia, Georgia and Portugal before the quarter-final defeat against the Pumas.
Important stats from the two-tests against Australia
General play (Underline-Indicates who has the most in that department)
| AUSTRALIA | WALES | |||||
| TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | |
| Meters | 363 | 417 | 780 | 318 | 290 | 608 |
| Defenders beaten | 20 | 12 | 32 | 13 | 9 | 22 |
| Turnovers won | 7 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Tackle % | 89 | 93 | 91 | 89 | 92 | 91 |
| Goal kicking % | 67 | 75 | 71 | 100 | 80 | 90 |
| Rucks % | 98 | 97 | 98 | 96 | 94 | 95 |
Both Australia and Wales were succesful with 91% of their tackles in both tests.
Set piece (Underline-Indicates who has the most in that department)
| AUSTRALIA | WALES | |||||
| TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | |
| Lineout % | 93 | 82 | 87 | 76 | 75 | 76 |
| Scrum % | 80 | 100 | 90 | 67 | 75 | 71 |
Wales would not be happy with a 76% lineout success rate.
Discipline (Underline-Indicates who has the most in that department)
| AUSTRALIA | WALES | |||||
| TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TOTAL | |
| Penalties conceded-Own half | 8 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Penalties conceded-Opp half | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
1 |
The 24 penalties Wales conceded against Australia would be something they would want to fix.
What is next for Wales Ruby?
There will be the matter of defeating Fiji in the opening autumn game to avoid becoming an unwanted part of Welsh rugby history.
Especially with further November matches against Australia and world champions South Africa, before three away trips in next year's Six Nations, starting with France in Paris.
