Wales were beaten 36-5 in their second Test against Australia as Tabua Tuinakauvadra scored two tries for the hosts in Sydney.
The Wallaroos’ win means the two-Test series is drawn after Wales claimed victory in Brisbane last Saturday and attention now turns to the World Cup, where Sean Lynn’s Wales side kick off their campaign against Scotland on 23 August in Salford.
Wales were handed an early blow just minutes into the game when co-captain Alex Callender was taken off the pitch with injury and, after a cagey opening, the hosts struck first following some good pressure on the tryline, where Maya Stewart dived over before Samantha Wood converted.
The visitors eventually responded when Jasmine Joyce-Butchers squeezed through a gap in the defence to touch down on her 50th appearance for Wales, but they were unable to level as Keira Bevan’s conversion attempt hit the upright.
Australia extended their advantage with two tries before the break after Faitala Moleka burst between two defenders to ground and a quick move from a scrum saw hooker Katalina Amosa drive over the line, with Wood adding the extras for both.
The hosts struck again early in the second half when Tuinakauvadra eased through the Welsh defence to cross, but Wood’s conversion smashed off the post and the visitors soon had Gwenllian Pyrs sent to the sin-bin for a knock-on. Using the extra player to their advantage, Tuinakauvadra went over for her second try of the game after breaking away from the scrum.
Australia exerted their dominance in the final stages when Ashley Marsters scored after escaping from the driving maul to ground and looked to have bagged her second try moments later after going over from another powerful maul, but the try was disallowed at the death.