Wales vs Australia LIVE! Rugby World Cup 2023 result, match stream and latest updates today
Wales became the first side to advance to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a one-sided 40-6 demolition of Australia on Sunday that left the two-time past winners facing embarrassingly early elimination.
The victory at the OL Stadium guarantees a top-two finish in Pool C for Wales while Australia’s destiny is now out of their control, having already lost to Fiji last Sunday.
An early try from Gareth Davies laid the platform for Welsh success with Nick Tompkins and captain Jac Morgan also going over while replacement flyhalf Gareth Anscombe efficiently kicked six penalties, a drop goal and a conversion after taking over from the injured Dan Biggar.
Australia, who were World Cup winners in 1991 and 1999 and have never previously failed to get past the pool stage, did not add any score after Ben Donaldson put over two penalties in the opening 14 minutes and fall to their biggest ever World Cup defeat.
Wales vs Australia latest news
Match report
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22:06 , Jonathan Gorrie
Thank you for joining Standard Sport’s LIVE coveage of Wales’s huge win over Australia.
Read our full match report below!
Wallabies fall to record-breaking defeat on dream night for Wales
22:06 , Jonathan Gorrie
Dominant Wales booked a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after crushing Australia 40-6 and leaving Eddie Jones’ team close to pool-stage elimination.
A third successive Pool C victory sent Wales into the last-eight for a fourth successive World Cup under head coach Warren Gatland.
They are guaranteed to top the group if they defeat Georgia next month, setting up a likely quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille.
Wales overcame the early loss of injured fly-half Dan Biggar to boss Australia in every key department and coast home through tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies, centre Nick Tompkins and captain Jac Morgan, while Biggar, who kicked an early conversion, saw his replacement Gareth Anscombe boot 23 points.
Read our full match report here!
FT: Wales 40-6 Australia
21:50 , Jonathan Gorrie
FT: Wales SAIL into the quarter-finals on a thoroughly miserable night for the Wallabies.
Wales vs Australia: TRY!
21:47 , Jonathan Gorrie
78 mins: TRY!
A dream night wrapped up for Wales as Morgan touches down after a lineout drive rumbles over!
Wales vs Australia: Eddie Jones booed
21:42 , Jonathan Gorrie
75 mins: Jones has just appeared on the big screen. You can imagine the reaction...
Wales vs Australia: DROP GOAL!
21:39 , Jonathan Gorrie
70 mins: Anscombe now has 23 points on a dream night for the Welsh!
Wales vs Australia: Have Australian frozen?
21:30 , Jonathan Gorrie
64 mins: Looks like any kind of team system has gone out the window here. It’s a mess, frankly.
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
21:24 , Jonathan Gorrie
59 mins: Wales really drawing the life out of Australia.
Anscombe again punishes some sloppy play.
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
21:20 , Jonathan Gorrie
52 mins: Kerevi penalised for a high tackle on Tompkins. Anscombe, again, does the honours.
Wales vs Australia: TRY!
21:12 , Jonathan Gorrie
48 mins: Tompinks with a brilliant finish after latching onto Anscombe’s chip!
The latter then does the business from the spot!
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY
21:06 , Jonathan Gorrie
42 mins: Anscombe well over that hoodoo now and gives Wales a 13- point lead!
Wales vs Australia; Back underway!
21:03 , Jonathan Gorrie
40 mins: Here we go!
HT: Wales 16-6 Australia
20:49 , Jonathan Gorrie
All getting a bit nervy for the Wallabies...
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
20:47 , Jonathan Gorrie
38 mins: Valetini penalised before Anscombe does the business!
Wales look like taking a ten-point lead into the break!
Wales vs Australia: Wallabies shaky
20:42 , Jonathan Gorrie
34 mins: Any time they look to spread the ball wide, Wales counter.
Things are getting a bit nervy!
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
20:35 , Jonathan Gorrie
28 mins: Very good few minutes for Wales, who steal a line-out and charge up the pitch.
Anscombe then scores a penalty won from the scrum.
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
20:26 , Jonathan Gorrie
20 mins: Ah, well records are meant to be broken.
Anscombe then scores minutes after his miss.
Wales vs Australia: MISSED PENALTY!
20:24 , Jonathan Gorrie
18 mins: Anscombe misses to extend his miserable World Cup of haing never scored.
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
20:20 , Jonathan Gorrie
13 mins: Donaldson pings over again as Wallabies fight back!
Wales vs Australia: PENALTY!
20:13 , Jonathan Gorrie
09 mins: Donaldson opens his account from fly-half with a simple enough penalty.
Wales vs Australia: Wales having to defend
20:10 , Jonathan Gorrie
06 mins: Australia respond with phase after phase of attack but Wales holding firm.
Wales vs Australia: TRY FOR WALES!
20:05 , Jonathan Gorrie
02 mins: TRY!
What a start. Gareth Davies runs in before Dan Biggar adds the extras.
Wales vs Australia: KiCK-OFF
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Away we go!
Wales vs Australia: Here come the athems!
19:58 , Jonathan Gorrie
Closing in on kick-off...
Wales vs Australia: Teams en route to the pitch!
19:55 , Jonathan Gorrie
What a game we have here tonight. We’re almost there.
Eddie Jones to ITV Sport
19:43 , Jonathan Gorrie
“There’s going to be a lot of noise, it’s about getting on the front-foot.”
Eddie Jones pledges tactical rethink for Australia in key Wales showdown
19:25 , Jonathan Gorrie
Eddie Jones has pledged a tactical rethink to keep Australia‘s Rugby World Cup hopes alive.
The Wallabies were felled 22-15 by Fiji in Saint-Etienne on Sunday, plunging their quarter-final hopes into jeopardy.
Australia face Wales in Lyon on Sunday for a do-or-die Pool C battle, and ex-England boss Jones admitted going back to the drawing board.
The Wallabies have lost prop Taniela Tupou and lock Will Skelton to injury, and Jones conceded that without their main power forwards Australia have had to concoct a new gameplan.
Scenes outside the ground
19:15 , Jonathan Gorrie
Party atmosphere in Lyon!
⏳ An hour to go...#WelshRugby | #ViveLeCymru pic.twitter.com/6SurIYwY4v
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) September 24, 2023
Latest odds
18:28 , Jonathan Gorrie
Wales - 10/11
Draw - 17/1
Australia - 1/1
Betfair - Rugby World Cup Winner
South Africa - 3/1
Ireland - 3/1
France - 3/1
New Zealand - 7/2
England - 11/1
Australia - 25/1
Wales - 30/1
Fiji - 30/1
Argentina - 30/1
Scotland - 80/1
Japan - 425/1
Italy - 500/1
Tonga - 500/1
Georgia - 500/1
Samoa - 500/1
Portugal - 500/1
David Campese: Australia will win against ‘not great’ Wales team by at least five points
18:14 , Jonathan Gorrie
The Wallabies will win by at least five points. They are in the same position as Fiji were last week; desperate backs to the wall do or die. Win or go home. They have just got to stay calm and look after the ball.
The Wales team is a good team but not a great team. Australia will win. And the injury to Max Jorgensen means Eddie could well bring in a reliable goalkicker from Australia A who are over in Europe. They are going to need a world-class goalkicker. And Bernard Foley, James O’Connor and Noah Lolesio are over there so don’t be surprised if one of them is called up.
The World Cup is a kicking competition and the imperative is to keep the scoreboard ticking over with three points.
Campese was speaking to Vegas Insider.
‘F***ing explain!’: Eddie Jones hit with X-rated rant after Australia loss
18:11 , Jonathan Gorrie
Former Australia wing Drew Mitchell has launched an X-rated tirade against Wallabies boss Eddie Jones’ Rugby World Cup plans.
Mitchell took aim at former England boss Jones’ selection policy with the Wallabies in danger of not reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in World Cup history.
The 39-year-old’s foul-mouthed salvo might have struck Jones, but also caught Fiji in the crossfire.
Mitchell lambasted Australia for losing to Fiji, in Sunday’s 22-15 defeat in St Etienne – only to cop criticism from Flying Fijians head coach Simon Raiwalui.
While 71-cap former Wallaby Mitchell questioned Jones’ decision to omit veterans Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper from his World Cup ranks, Fiji wound up as collateral damage in the rant.
Raiwalui represented Fiji but was raised in Australia, and quickly admonished Mitchell on social media for his “condescending” remarks.
Jones paints daydream picture as Australia prepare for crunch Wales clash
17:52 , Jonathan Gorrie
Eddie Jones painted a daydream picture of an alternate, idyllic reality, teaching in a backwater school in Australia.
A world away from Test rugby coaching, Jones would split his time between work and home, taking a packed lunch from the wife and being back in time for tea.
But Jones is not enjoying a 2.4 children existence, that was all a figment of his imagination.
The 63-year-old is in the midst of scrambling to save his job, and also ignite Australia’s World Cup campaign.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
17:48 , Jonathan Gorrie
Wales had not beaten Australia since 2008 before a run of three consecutive wins between 2018-2021.
The last meeting came in Cardiff during the 2022 round of autumn internationals, when Wales led 34-13 before inexplicably losing 39-34 under Wayne Pivac, who was sacked after a dire run of just three wins from the calendar year.
Wales wins: 13
Australia wins: 31
Draws: 1
Wales vs Australia referee
17:40 , Jonathan Gorrie
The referee for Sunday night’s game will be England’s Wayne Barnes, assisted by Luke Pearce and Christophe Ridley plus TMO Tom Foley.
Prediction: Wales to win by three points
17:32 , Jonathan Gorrie
Jones admits his job is on the line on Sunday after a torrid second spell as Wallabies coach so far but he has also said that he has “no doubt” that his team will emerge victorious.
The usual predictable and trademark mind games from the former England boss, but the whole approach feels just a little bit tired these days.
This is a real chance for Wales, who have had their own massive problems over the last year, to make a proper statement by effectively sending the Wallabies home early and booking their own quarter-final berth in the process.
And we’ll think they will narrowly get the job done in a captivating, physical tussle.
Wales to win, by three points.
Confirmed Australia lineup
17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie
Australia XV: Kellaway; Nawaqanitawase, Petaia, Kerevi, Koroibete; Donaldson, McDermott; Bell, Porecki (c), Slipper; Frost, Arnold; Leota, T Hooper, Valetini
Replacements: Faessler, Schoupp, Fa’amausili, Philip, McReight, White, Gordon, Vunivalu
Confirmed Wales lineup
17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie
Wales XV: L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar, G Davies; G Thomas, Elias, Francis; Rowlands, Beard; Wainwright, Morgan (c), Faletau
Replacements: Dee, Domachowski, H Thomas, D Jenkins, Basham, T Williams, Anscombe, Dyer
Where to watch Wales vs Australia
17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie
TV channel: In the UK, Wales vs Australia will be shown live on free-to-air channel ITV1, with coverage starting at 7:15pm.
Live stream: The game is also available to watch for free online via the ITV website and ITVX app.
Live blog: Follow all the action on Sunday night with Standard Sport’s live match blog.
Welcome
17:17 , Jonathan Gorrie
Good afternoon and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Wales’s Rubgy World Cup clash with Australia in Lyon.
Kick-off from the OL Stadium is at 8pm BST.