Wales will discover on Monday whether or not Jonathan Davies’s autumn campaign is already over.
The Scarlets centre is due to receive news on his ankle injury that threatens to rule him out of the key Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.
Davies was helped from the Principality Stadium pitch after suffering a suspected ligament injury during the dying seconds of Wales’ 29-21 defeat against Australia.
Although Wales head coach Warren Gatland is set to make several changes for next Saturday’s appointment with Georgia, 65 times-capped Davies is an integral part of his plans. The All Blacks are Wales’ opponents on November 25, and then the Springboks seven days later.
Davies was British and Irish Lions’ player of the series against New Zealand earlier this year. No update on his fitness was given on Sunday, but an assessment is due to be provided on Monday.
‘It doesn’t look brilliant,’ Gatland said immediately after the game. ‘He has been strapped up, and he’s on a crutch.’
Other than Davies’ problem, Wales emerged largely unscathed from the Wallabies encounter as Australia reeled off a 13th successive victory in the fixture following tries for Tatafu Polota-Nau, Adam Coleman, Michael Hooper and Kurtley Beale.
But Wales, who shifted their tactical and creative emphasis by fielding two midfield playmakers in Dan Biggar and Owen Williams, showed considerable attacking ambition and also fielded three new caps – centre Owen Watkin, prop Leon Brown and flanker Sam Cross – as the 2019 World Cup countdown begins to gather pace.
‘We are disappointed in terms of the result, but we talked about putting some new faces out there,’ Gatland said.
‘There were three new caps, three (more) guys having their first game at home, and some youngsters in there. They will get better from that experience, and as a team we tend to get stronger as the campaign goes on.
‘That was Australia’s ninth game together in the last few months. If you look at where they started in the first game of the Rugby Championship, they played New Zealand, who had come out of a tough Lions series, and the All Blacks put 50 points on them.
‘By game seven, they had turned that result and beat the All Blacks.
‘Our whole focus now is on planning and the countdown to the World Cup. It’s about picking and exposing some young players and giving them experience and opportunity and developing different types of styles.
‘We are disappointed in terms of the result, but we talked about putting some new faces out there,’ Gatland said.
‘There were three new caps, three (more) guys having their first game at home, and some youngsters in there. They will get better from that experience, and as a team we tend to get stronger as the campaign goes on.
‘That was Australia’s ninth game together in the last few months. If you look at where they started in the first game of the Rugby Championship, they played New Zealand, who had come out of a tough Lions series, and the All Blacks put 50 points on them.
‘By game seven, they had turned that result and beat the All Blacks.
‘Our whole focus now is on planning and the countdown to the World Cup. It’s about picking and exposing some young players and giving them experience and opportunity and developing different types of styles.
