Standing in the rain watching the closing stages of the Network Q Rally in Cardiff yesterday would have been infinitely preferable to what passed for indoor entertainment beneath the closed roof just up the road.

Welsh rugby these days can just as easily be described as an accident waiting to happen and the only surprising twist to a predictable result was Australia's gallant attempts to match the home side mistake for depressing mistake.

Terrible games of Test rugby occasionally have a perverse appeal but few could rival this one for its litany of knock-ons, wasteful errors and poverty-stricken skill levels.

If seven Matt Burke penalties, four of them in the second half, were ultimately enough to save the Wallabies from a third defeat on European soil this month, they bore the stale look of a team who cannot wait to fly home.

Amid the general incomprehension at how massively disappointing such influential men as George Gregan and Stephen Larkham have been on this trip, this was also the day which exploded the theory about closing a stadium roof automatically improving the quality of the fare beneath it.

In fairness to the players the pitch was already wet and greasy from overnight drizzle; in their desperation to keep their troublesome turf in half-decent order, the Welsh Rugby Union proved as guilty of falling between two stools as the decision-makers on both sides.

The most glaring conclusion to be drawn, however, was the one identified by the centre-turned-pundit Scott Gibbs, namely that Wales, without a win over Australia in Cardiff for 20 years, will not have a better chance for some time.

There was the odd glimpse of fire from the Welsh dragon early on, with Rob Howley and Scott Quinnell prominent, but the failure of Graham Henry's side to take advantage of David Giffin's 12th-minute sin binning for some heavy footwork on the prone Colin Charvis was sadly indicative of what was to follow.

By the interval, too, the referee Steve Lander's whistle was running hot and Welsh indiscipline had allowed Burke to kick the first of three first-half penalties, including one from his own half on the stroke of half-time, in response to Iestyn Harris's ninth-minute penalty punishing Giffin's misdemeanour.

Only in the game's dying moments was there anything to rouse a frustrated crowd.

A dust-up between Justin Harrison and Moore led to both men being yellow-carded before a Rob Howley tap-penalty gave Bath's Gavin Thomas just enough time and space to dive beneath the posts for the game's only try. By then, unfortunately, the contest was already way beyond redemption.

The industry of the Wallaby number eight Toutai Kefu, for one, deserved a better setting and his coach Eddie Jones was as irritated afterwards with the amount of Welsh infringing as he was with the roof situation. "I can't understand if you've got a roof why it isn't shut for a long time before a game," he complained.

His opposite number Henry was equally unimpressed, the decision having been taken over his head, but drew some solace from the effort shown by Wales in the wake of their defeat to Argentina, if not the end result.

"Considering where we've come from, we showed 10 out of 10 for character," he said, indicating he would be taking his squad into camp in the New Year to improve their chances of a faster start to the Six Nations than they have managed in recent years.

The Wallabies, meanwhile, still have to play the Barbarians on Wednesday night before they can limp home and reflect on a European autumn which has raised more questions than it has answered.

WALES: Morgan; Proctor, Robinson (R Williams, 47 mins), Harris, Gareth Thomas; S Jones, Howley; John; D Jones (58 mins), McBryde (B Williams, 72 mins), Morris, Gough (Wyatt, 50 mins), Moore, Charvis, Sinkinson (Gavin Thomas, 63 mins), Quinnell (capt). Sin bin: Moore 80 mins.

AUSTRALIA: Burke; Tune, Bond, Flatley (S Kefu, 63 mins), Roff (Latham, 76 mins); Larkham, Gregan (capt); Stiles, Foley, Darwin (Moore, 76 mins), Cockbain (Harrison, 69 mins), Giffin, Finegan, Waugh (Smith, 56 mins), T Kefu.Sin bin: Giffin 12 mins, Harrison 80 mins.

Referee: S Lander (England).