Pool C rivals Australia and Wales faced off at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, knowing that the loser of this crucial, crucial match could essentially wave goodbye to their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stages.
Wales scoring the opening try inside the opening three minutes was far from an ideal start for the Wallabies, but they responded through two Ben Donaldson penalties. However, Gareth Anscombe notched two of his own to extend Wales' half-time lead to 16-6.
Two further Anscombe penalties either side of an opportunistic Nick Tompkins try stretched Wales' lead to 29-6, and the Welsh fly-half soon added another two three pointers, one off the tee, the other a drop-goal, to rub salt in Wallaby wounds.
Jac Morgan capped off a momentous performance with a late try from a rolling Welsh maul, as Australia's forward pack fell apart in the second half. A 34-point defeat breaks all kinds of unwanted records for the Wallabies, who now face the very real possibility of a first-ever elimination from the Rugby World Cup pool stages.
Here's how the Wallabies rated out of 10 in the match:
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Wallabies player ratings against Wales
15. Andrew Kellaway — 6
On his Rugby World Cup debut, the Waratah slotted into the full-back position, carrying well off kick returns and being solid off the boot himself aside from slicing one straight into touch. In defence, he raced back to slow the momentum of Rees-Zammit, stopping a certain Welsh try on the stroke of half-time, and was taken off an hour into the contest.
14. Mark Nawaqanitawase — 5
The danger man from games one and two was much quieter in Lyon, though retained his strong work ethic by drifting in-field to carry and was solid as a rock in defence. Switching to full-back for the final 20 minutes, Nawaqanitawase made a half-break down the right edge which came to nothing, but he had no other spells with ball-in-hand as the Wallabies' possession dried up.
13. Jordan Petaia — 5
Helped to lead the Wallabies' wide defence in the first half and used his superior speed to help out his team-mates with recovering tackles all across the park. Did his best with ball in hand, but the ferocious Welsh defence meant none of his increasingly sparse carries did much damage.
12. Samu Kerevi — 5
A scary sight for the Welsh both with and without the all, Kerevi pulled off some hammer fends and big carries, as well as putting on some huge shots on unfortunate Wales ball carriers. However, much like the rest of the side, he fell off badly in the second half, conceding a high tackle penalty, and twice being caught in possession to gift Wales penalties deep in Wallaby territory.
11. Marika Koroibete — 5
Was constantly found coming off his wing looking for work, and formed a solid defensive partnership with Kerevi down that left side. He saw less and less of the ball in the second period as Wales took complete control, conceding a turnover penalty on one of the rare occasions he did have possession.
10. Ben Donaldson — 5
The number 10 shirt is a heavy one for any Wallaby to wear, and this certainly applied to Donaldson tonight. Despite slotting over two penalties with little difficulty and making a fast break through the middle, he also spilled the ball deep in his own 22 and put a restart out on the full in the first half alone. Things didn't get much better in the second half, with Wales' Davies intercepting an errant Donaldson pass before he was taken off after 52 minutes.
9. Tate McDermott — 5
Returned to the starting side after a concussion, and was buzzing around every ruck looking for space in-behind. A solid kicker from the base, McDermott's box kicks gave Wales constant problems in the air and forced a knock-on or two. That element of control waned badly in the second period though, and his woeful clearance resulted in three more points for Wales before the Wallabies scrum-half was withdrawn.
1. Angus Bell — 5
Couldn't keep hold of an early Arnold offload that would've produced a Wallaby try, but was a constant presence in the loose as ever. At scrum-time though, Wales' pack became increasingly dominant as the Australian front row fell apart, and Bell was taken off with 12 left on the clock.
2. Dave Porecki — 4
Retained the captaincy despite McDermott's return and started well, but his initially strong line-out throwing soon fell into disarray, with one overshot and another crooked which gifted Wales field position. Taken off after an hour.
3. James Slipper — 7
Taken off at half-time after putting in one hell of a 40-minute shift, winning two scrum penalties in quick succession with massive shoves in his unfamiliar tighthead position.
4. Nick Frost — 5
Kept alive a poor line-out throw early on and looked to carry whenever possible, particularly off short balls taken right to the gain-line. Was otherwise solid at line-out time as Porecki's chief target.
5. Richie Arnold — 5
Another who was everywhere in the loose, and produced a last-ditch offload akin to a tricky playmaker which almost produced a close-range try for Bell. Taken off after 65 mins.
6. Rob Leota — 6
Set off on a barnstorming early run down the left edge which got Australia into the Welsh 22, and was a constant figure in defence. His next involvement in the wide channels saw him lob a wide pass for Koroibete over the touchline, before being taken off 10 minutes into the second half.
7. Tom Hooper — 5
Switched to openside and like any good 7 was popping up all over the place to make tackles and ruck over. However, he was caught offside more than once at the breakdown, with Wales converting his infringement into three points. Played the full 80, but was unable to reverse Wales' complete domination at the breakdown in the second half.
8. Rob Valetini — 5
Put in some massive carries that frequently threatened to bust the gain-line, and fronted top well in defence. Did superbly to help the Wallabies turn over a ruck, but dived on the ball from an offside position to gift Wales three more points. Kept on carrying and tackling hard, but overall could do little to prevent the Wallabies being walked all over.
Replacements:
16. Matt Faessler — 5 - Brought on for the final 20, but hardly had a chance to show he was an improvement on the jaded Porecki.
17. Blake Schoupp — 5 - Replaced Bell with 12 to go, but by then the Welsh scrum was well on top and Schoupp couldn't stop that momentum alone.
18. Pone Fa'amausili — 4 - Replaced Slipper for the second 40, but was given a torrid time at the scrum; shunted up and back by both Thomas and Domachowski to concede successive penalties. Otherwise carried well in the loose.
19. Matt Philip — 5 - On for last 15 mins, but had little impact with Australia's set-piece having already fallen to pieces.
20. Fraser McReight — 5 - Replace Leota on the hour, and didn't put a foot wrong in defence despite the Wallabies being constantly marched down the field via their indiscipline.
21. Nic White — 5 - Brought on for the final 12 minutes, but that was nowhere near enough time to assert any sort of authority on the proceedings.
22. Carter Gordon — 4 - On for the hooked Donaldson after 53 mins, but couldn't help to turn the tide. Pulled off a smart wrap-around play with Kerevi and Vunivalu to win a penalty, but pushed the resultant kick too far to sum up the Wallabies' performance in a nutshell.
23. Suliasi Vunivalu -— 5 - Brought on for the final 20, but couldn't provide the impact he did against Fiji last weekend, though he did constantly drift in-field looking to carry and take the pressure off his forwards.
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