THOMAS: “LAST CHANCE TO SET THINGS RIGHT”

Wales won their first Grand Slam in 27 years this year but have suffered record defeats to New Zealand and South Africa this month. They even needed a late drop goal to beat lowly Fiji and have scored only two tries in the three games. But Thomas still believes his injury-ravaged team can salvage some pride by beating the Wallabies in Cardiff on Saturday.

“With the way things have gone this Autumn the players realise this is their last chance to put things right,” said Thomas. “We wanted to play against these big teams to test ourselves but we feel we are better than this. The only way to move forward is to get a victory – that is more important to us than anything.

“We have dug in and shown improvements from each game but we know we need to cut out the errors that have been costing us so far.

“We’re not looking for excuses but we’ve had a lot of injuries and new combinations this month and our preparation hasn’t been ideal. But come Saturday, if we perform well, everything that has gone on before will be forgotten. I’m sure we can win.”

The slump in form has seen Wales drop to sixth in the world rankings while Australia regained their place in the top three with an emphatic victory over Ireland in Dublin. That win ended their own miserable run of seven successive defeats while Wales have not beaten the Aussies since 1987.

Thomas added: “Australia have had a tough year but you can never write off a team like the Wallabies. They have been a top three team for the last ten years.”