Record Wallabies win in Cardiff plunges Wales to worst losing run in history

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Australia condemned Wales to the worst losing run in its 143-year rugby history after a record 52-20 win under the Principality Stadium roof on Sunday.

Wales lost an unprecedented 11th consecutive test, dating to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals 13 months ago.

The Wallabies are responsible for three of those defeats after July wins in Sydney and Melbourne. On Sunday, they scored their most points against Wales in Cardiff — they'd never passed 39 — and their most against Wales in 28 years.

Coming off the stunner against England, the Wallabies also are perfect halfway through their 40th anniversary grand slam tour, with Scotland and Ireland to come.

The victory by eight tries to two saw Australia zoom to 19-0, a Wales fightback by halftime, then Australia retake control while its center Samu Kerevi was off the field for a 20-minute red card in his 50th test.

Matt Faessler became the first Australia hooker to score a hat trick of tries, and man-of-the-match fullback Tom Wright matched his three in the final minute. Noah Lolesio converted six.

“That was an awesome 80-minute performance,” Wright told broadcaster TNT Sports. “Those are games you like to be a part of.”

The Wallabies were too clever and confident for a younger, rebuilding Wales. Bigger too. The Wallabies constantly got over the gain-line and were clinical.

After Kerevi's illegal head contact on Jac Morgan reduced Australia to 14 men, Wales, trailing 19-13, thought it had a sniff. But the Wallabies pack moved them out of sight on the scoreboard by engineering two converted tries in 10 minutes for Faessler. His hat trick was all maul tries.

Wales tried to regain the initiative by changing the front row, but it also replaced its best player, wing Tom Rogers.

And before Australia returned to 15 when Kerevi was replaced by rookie sensation Joseph Su'uali'i, Wright scored a 70-meter intercept try after teammate Rob Valetini stopped Christ Tshiunza dead.

“That performance hurts,” Wales coach Warren Gatland said. "We started off not great. We conceded some points. We got back into it. (Conceding) 21 points with a man advantage, it's not often that happens.

“You can get beaten by a better team, but we've probably let ourselves down when we needed to keep a cool head. It's using that experience to review as honestly as we can so we learn from it.”

Asked about his future, Wales' most successful coach said he wanted to carry on.

“There's so much negativity around the game. Whatever the best decision is, I would support. If that means (firing) me, I'm comfortable with that,” Gatland said. "I'm only human so I ask myself if it’s the right thing to do. But I’m happy doing it."

The game petered out with more tries to Wright and Len Ikitau, interrupted by a score for Wales' Ben Thomas.

It doesn’t get any easier for Wales. World champion South Africa comes to town next weekend.

Even knowing there was more unwanted history at stake, Wales couldn't have started much worse.

It was pinned in its own half for the first four minutes. Lock Adam Beard, its most capped player, limped off. Rogers somehow held up Kerevi over the line. That was the first 10 minutes.

Now Australia was well warmed up and merciless. Slick hands finished with a Wright dummy and score. A forced turnover finished with 120-kilogram lock Nick Frost striding 50 meters to the posts. Then the pack muscled Faessler over.

After 22 minutes, Australia led 19-0 and the crowd of 56,000 was quiet.

It took an unexpected Wales scrum shove to reanimate the crowd and No. 8 Aaron Wainwright, who tore his hamstring in July in Sydney, backed over the try-line with his third touch in the scoring move.

More cheers came for two aerial catches by Rogers — playing his first test in 15 months — a penalty from Wales' superior scrum, and two penalty kicks by Gareth Anscombe.

Wales was back in the game, only 19-13 behind at halftime.

Australia was forced to start the new half with prop James Slipper — his 142nd test, tied for fourth all-time — to subdue Wales tighthead Archie Griffin. But it didn't work. It was Wales' only edge on the field.

“We feel the same as everyone does at home,” Wales captain Dewi Lake said. “We're disappointed with the run that we're on, with the result today. We train hard, we work hard to win games but we're not there yet.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Australia's Will Skelton, center , is blocked by Wales' Christ Tshiunza, right and Wales' Gareth Anscombe during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Wales' Rhodi Williams kicks the ball to clear during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Australia's Noah Lolesio kicks a penalty during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Australia's Tom Wright scores a try during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Australia's Len Ikitau scores a try during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

MIAMI (AP) — The Florida Panthers arrived in Ferraris, cigars lit, dressed in all-white “Miami Vice” attire — and, in true South Florida fashion, fashionably late.

The New York Rangers followed suit, stepping into loanDepot Park in their own whites and sunglasses.

With that, the 2026 Winter Classic was underway in warm, humid Miami.

At loanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, an expected sold-out crowd — with celebrity attendees that included former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady — had already begun filling the streets hours before the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers were set to host the Rangers in the first outdoor game to take place in Florida.

The retractable roof on the ballpark — which has been shut while air conditioning has been piped in to help ice builders create a playing surface suitable for hockey — will be opened not long before the puck drops.

“I would have never thought that I would play in a Winter Classic in Miami and be a part of this cool experience," said Florida center Anton Lundell, wearing a baby pink shirt and blue handkerchief to accent his all-white suit. “Obviously we still have the game left, but everything building up to this game has been awesome. It's been very unique and an experience we're all going to remember for the rest of our lives.”

Though nowhere near as chilly as Winter Classics of years past, temperatures in Miami hovered around 60 degrees Fahrenheit just an hour before puck drop, and lows were expected to be in the low 40s overnight.

For the Rangers, forward Will Cuylie said the plan was for a day-at-the-beach look, but bathing suits were a non-starter. Not professional enough, he added.

“We thought the all-white was a good solution for that,” he said.

Florida coach Paul Maurice arrived in what he jokingly deemed an “appropriate” mode of transportation.

“I was happily on the bus,” Maurice said ahead of Friday's game.

But on his ride into the arena, Maurice took in his surroundings: the palm tree monikers lining the outside of the ballpark and the thousands of fans clad in Rangers and Panthers gear. In past decades, it would have been hard to imagine such a scene in South Florida, where the success of the back-to-back defending champion Panthers has helped exponentially grow the popularity of hockey.

“I took about 10 minutes just to think about that idea,” Maurice said. "How much different the game was 30 years ago, 20 years ago that you’re in Miami, you've got your whole team getting in the Ferraris. I didn't really think there would be that many fans outside. It was like a version of our parade.

“It is an awesome spectacle. The game itself — not just in Florida — but the pure hockey game, for me, is better than it’s ever been.”

For Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito, the game — one that’s filled with “wonderment,” he said — represented a full-circle moment. His career path started in baseball, and on Friday, his team was playing on a baseball field.

Zito was a batboy for the Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1980s and still credits general manager Harry Dalton for what became the start of a career that saw him become an agent and then one of the top executives in the game.

“The lessons I learned from that experience impact me, and really then via me, our organization on a daily basis,” Zito said. “I’m not here today if I hadn’t had that good fortune.”

That said, his baseball ways were long ago. When he first arrived at loanDepot Park to see the setup, he asked where the locker rooms were. Baseball doesn’t use that term.

“I forgot,” Zito said. “It’s a clubhouse.”

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New York Rangers, including left wing Brett Berard, center, warm up with a soccer ball ahead of the start of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Rangers Taylor Raddysh enjoys family skate time after practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

New York Rangers players gather for a team picture during practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)