Wales captain Dewi Lake insists his team must take their share of the blame for their 10-test losing run – as Warren Gatland comes under increasing pressure ahead of Australia clash

Earlier this week, Warren Gatland said he welcomed the pressure on him and was happy to take criticism of Wales’ 10-Test losing run firmly on his shoulders.

But ahead of a crucial match against Australia in Cardiff tomorrow, his captain Dewi Lake admitted Gatland’s young players must accept their share of responsibility for the state of the country’s game. Lake said his team needs to right some wrongs. The 25-year-old is an impressive young leader.

But he and his colleagues have a lot on their plates right now. Losing to Australia at the Principality Stadium and Wales will extend their run of defeats to 11.

That would make them statistically the worst team in Welsh history, taking them past the 2002-03 team who also lost ten games in a row under then coach Steve Hansen.

Like Hansen more than two decades ago, Gatland has faced a lot of heat, much of it coming from his former players. But Lake said, ‘Gats isn’t on the field, is he?

‘The coaches give us the best platform to perform. The pressure is on all of us as a group when we are losing. We all feel it.’

Warren Gatland’s side are dangerously close to setting a new record for consecutive Test losses

Wales suffered their tenth consecutive Test defeat when they faced Fiji in the autumn opener

Wales’ autumn opener – which ended in a 24-19 defeat to Fiji – felt like a must-win match. But now the pressure has been transferred to the game in Australia.

The Wallabies caused a shock yesterday by naming breakout star Joseph Sua’ali’i, who was player of the match on his Test debut in the win over England last Saturday, as their replacements. Sua’ali’i was expected to start in the middle.

But head coach Joe Schmidt has recalled powerful midfielder Samu Kerevi in ​​place of Sua’ali’i. Colossal lock Will Skelton and former Exeter scrum-half Nic White also come into the XV.

“I thought for sure he would start,” Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins said of Sua’ali’i. ‘Kerevi is an excellent player. He has different strengths than Sua’ali’i. White is also a very good player. ‘We know they will be a good side and will be full of confidence after winning at Twickenham for the first time in a long time. ‘We are enthusiastic about the challenge. Whether we’ve lost eight or 10 on the bounce, Test football is about winning. We are more than capable of that.’

Wales were defeated twice by Australia in July. But based on their 42-37 win over England, the Wallabies appear to have improved significantly since then.

“It’s been a whirlwind for Joseph the last two weeks, so it’s a great opportunity for him to catch his breath and watch a game before heading in,” Schmidt said.

‘The temptation was great to keep him there. We want to try to maintain some balance there.’

Wales are without their best player in Australia scrum-half Tomos Williams. It was announced yesterday that he will also be unavailable for next Saturday’s match with South Africa after being released from Gatland’s squad. The in-form Gloucester back suffered a shoulder injury – plus a head knock – during the defeat to Fiji.

Mail Sport understands Williams should be fit to return to Gloucester once the November testing period is over.

Wales have a team that can beat Australia. But the Wallabies are big favourites.

Wales will also be without their talisman Tomos Williams for their clash with the Wallabies

But Lake insisted his side will relish the chance to turn their fortunes around on Sunday

Jenkins has seen it in Welsh rugby over the years. He’s been through the ups and the downs. ‘It hurts. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

“It’s probably been the same for most of the 10-game series. A few mistakes cost us against Fiji. You will be disappointed. You want to win and when you don’t, you feel angry.

‘At the end of the day there are no excuses. We can probably hide behind that. But Test rugby is an uncompromising place. We have done 80 percent of things well, but we need to work on the other 20 percent.

‘Of course there is pressure. We do our utmost to win. Gats has been his usual self. He works hard and keeps going.’

Lake added, “We’re not going out to lose. But at some point we have to turn that around. It has happened before that teams have lost points. Wales did the same in 2002-03 and won a Grand Slam 18 months later. We are still one score away from the right side of the result. We are good enough to get the result this weekend.”