With no evidence of progress and 400 days since Wales' last win, Warren Gatland is under intense scrutiny.
Wales great Dan Biggar has rated former Ireland captain and his British and Irish Lions team-mate Johnny Sexton as the toughest player he has ever faced.
It was their 12th successive loss to the Wallabies in Australia.
With a raft of injuries and unavailable players Wales are depleted against South Africa and will travel to Australia in hope rather than expectation
With Louis Rees-Zammit heading for the NFL and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso plumping for the Red Rose, Wales' depth chart is stuck in the shallow end
From Finn Russell to 'cheesecake' via Shaun Edwards' thunder face, a sideways look at what to expect in this year's Championship
The deep joy of the Portuguese, the domination of the Irish, the despondency of the Scots and Wallabies; the final Pool round had it all
Spectacular tries, thunderclap collisions and contentious decisions defined a blockbuster opening World Cup weekend
Former Wales back-rower Josh Navidi has named his Ultimate XV, an understandably Welsh-biased selection peppered with legends such as South Africa’s Bakkies Botha, Australia’s Matt Giteau and Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll.
There is a glut of English and Welsh internationals ready to go toe-to-toe in knockout European rugby and only one winner