Wales 16 Australia 25:WALES WERE, as has become their custom in November, complaining about rough justice after losing a game they had dominated up front. But it was more a case of roof justice after the Welsh left their pitch open to the elements all week. The resulting surface was treacherous enough for the referee, Wayne Barnes, to cite it as a reason for not sending a Wallabies frontrower to the sin-bin for persistently collapsing scrums.

Seven of the 12 penalties Australia conceded were for scrummaging offences, all on Wales put-ins. After one offence in the first half, Barnes told the Australian frontrow that he was aware they were slipping and in the final quarter, after the Wallabies were penalised twice at scrums five metres from their own line and Wales protested for action to be taken, he told the replacement hooker, Huia Edmonds: “I know the pitch isn’t great but you just have to make a better effort to stay up.”

The Wales outhalf, Stephen Jones, slipped and missed a penalty at the end of the first half that would have given his side a lead at the interval – the pitch worked against Wales.

Furthermore, though it had rained on and off before kick-off it had not done so enough to make handling hazardous and thus blight the Wallabies counter-attacking game, which proved to be the difference between the sides. Two of Australia’s three tries came after they forced turnovers on their own 10-metre line.

The Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, could not hide his frustration. The men in red have probably never been as well prepared. Their game plan – picking and going after a tackle, getting blockers to stop David Pocock turning over the ball, allowing Sam Warburton to take charge of the breakdown, and using the scrum as a weapon – should have been enough to secure a rare win over a Tri-Nations side.

They failed because of individual errors. Australia’s second and third tries came after Dan Lydiate and Bradley Davies lost the ball to Pocock and Quade Cooper. The goose-stepping Cooper, Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor sprinted away from the theory that forwards win matches.

Australia were battered up front and though they shaded the lineout they conceded eight turnovers and won four.

Cooper kicked more than usual, to give his forwards respite, but the Wallabies never wasted an opportunity to exploit space and they made 184 passes to 137. Wales reacted slowly after winning possession, lacking a collective understanding.

“We did not play,” said the replacement scrumhalf, Richie Rees, who scored his side’s only try 11 minutes from time.

“We had enough ball but we did not create much and we have a lot to improve on.”

Wales will struggle against the major Southern Hemisphere nations until they turn possession into tries. For all their ball, they rarely threatened the Wallabies line and they were fortunate to be in the game in the final 10 minutes.

Beale was not rewarded for the play of the match, when he caught his own garryowen as Mike Phillips waited for the ball to fall into his hands and, in the moment of regaining possession, saw James Hook standing in front of him on Wales’s 22. The Wallabies full-back kicked the ball past his opposite number and hacked it towards the line. He did not quite have the pace and Hook was able to prevent the try.

Another counter-attack saw the Wales centre, Tom Shanklin, sent to the sin-bin for tackling Pocock without the ball, 10 metres from the line. It was the theme of the afternoon – Wales were in control one moment and stretched the next.

Australia’s capacity to absorb pressure and then strike will not be lost on England after last June’s defeat in Perth, where scrum power also counted for nothing.

The Wallabies expect to have the hooker Stephen Moore, who pulled out on Saturday after ricking his back in the warm-up, available at Twickenham.

Moore will make a difference because Wales, who face South Africa on Saturday, targeted his replacement, Saia Faingaa. Matthew Rees drove between his opposite number and the tighthead, Ben Alexander, exerting a pressure that Faingaa could not withstand.

“We have work to do in the scrum,” said Australia’s captain Rocky Elsom.

It always seems to be the case with the Wallabies, who are never allowed to forget what England did to them in the 2007 World Cup.

But as long as the rapier remains mightier than the bludgeon, it will only be an inconvenience.

WALES: Hook, Harries, Shanklin, Bishop, S. Williams, S. Jones, Phillips, Jenkins, M. Rees, A. Jones, Davies, A. Jones, Lydiate, Warburton, Thomas. Replacements: Czekaj for Shanklin (76), Biggar for S. Jones (65), R. Rees for Phillips (65), James for Jenkins (71), Bennett for M. Rees (75), D. Jones for A. Jones (74), M. Williams for Warburton (65). Sin Bin: Shanklin (64).

AUSTRALIA: Beale, O’Connor, Ashley-Cooper, Giteau, Mitchell, Cooper, Genia, Robinson, S. Faingaa, Alexander, Chisholm, Sharpe, Elsom, Pocock, McCalman. Replacements: Barnes for Giteau (67), Burgess for Genia (74), Edmonds for S. Faingaa (54), Slipper for Alexander (62), Mumm for Chisholm (75). Not Used: Brown, Turner.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU).