Never go back. Warren Gatland must wonder if he should have heeded that apparently universal truth. After this defeat the New Zealander has overseen the longest ever run of Wales losses: 11 and counting. The 43-19 pool victory over Georgia at last year’s Rugby World Cup is a distant memory – a result that came days after they thrashed today’s opponents, Australia, by a record margin. In sobering contrast, this was a record points total for the Wallabies in Cardiff.

Things have unravelled spectacularly since that World Cup and Gatland, once so assured, looks increasingly out of touch and unsure of himself, scratching around for a way out of this ever-deepening hole. True, he has lost plenty of class players to retirement, injury or overseas contracts. But he is being well remunerated to say the least. The mood pre-match was acrimonious and will only get worse from here.

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