Kieran Hardy saves Wales from humiliation against the Reds

Regan Grace marked his first Wales appearance with a try as Warren Gatland’s team ended their Australia tour with a dramatic 36-35 victory against Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

The former St Helens rugby league star produced a fine 18th-minute finish in only his third game of union since switching codes.

Wales, though, needed a Kieran Hardy try one minute from time to see them a home after they let slip a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter.

It was Wales’ first win this year after eight successive defeats that included a Six Nations wooden spoon and 2-0 Test series loss against Australia.

Prop Archie Griffin, Grace’s fellow wing Rio Dyer, flanker Christ Tshiunza and centre Nick Tompkins also scored, with fly-half Sam Costelow kicking three conversions.

Queensland hooker Richie Asiata, meanwhile, collected a hat-trick and wing Mac Grealy touched down twice. James O’Connor converted all five tries as the Reds pushed Wales to the brink of defeat in a thrilling contest.

Wales captain Cory Hill withdrew from the game, with the Welsh Rugby Union saying his absence was due to “personal reasons”.

He was named skipper for the game on Wednesday by head coach Gatland, when Hill told reporters that he regretted an incident that happened three years ago and publicly apologised.

Hill, 32, was named among a group of individuals that damaged a woman’s house in May 2021. He was not charged by police and he apologised at the time through a representative.

Scrum-half Gareth Davies took over as Wales skipper, with Exeter forward Dafydd Jenkins replacing Hill in the second row.

Wales made a bright start and they were ahead after six minutes when Bath tighthead Griffin claimed a try, with Costelow’s conversion attempt hitting the post.

But poor discipline began to surface from the visitors, and Queensland took advantage, setting up an attacking position that led to Asiata touching down and O’Connor converting.

It was an early warning for Wales, yet they hit back impressively and regained the lead through Grace after he collected Dyer’s pass.

Costelow converted from the touchline, and Wales led 12-7 after a lively opening quarter full of attacking intent from both teams.

There was no let-up in the scoring, and Dyer was next to pounce after he collected a pinpoint cross-kick from Costelow, before the fly-half’s conversion opened up a 12-point advantage.

The Reds thought they had narrowed the gap immediately following a slick move, but O’Connor lost control of the ball before touching down and Wales escaped.

Asiata then claimed his second try – O’Connor converted – after Wales hooker Evan Lloyd was yellow-carded, but Tshiunza claimed a fourth Welsh touchdown on the stroke of half-time for a 24-14 interval lead.

Tompkins crossed for a try just six minutes into the second period, putting Wales firmly in the driving seat, yet Asiata’s hat-trick score underlined that they could not switch off.

And further evidence of that came on the hour-mark as Grealy rounded off a sharp move, with O’Connor’s conversion meaning Wales had conceded 14 unanswered points in eight minutes.

Grealy then finished a stunning length-of-the-field move, with O’Connor maintaining his 100 per cent conversion strike-rate and leaving Wales desperately requiring some inspiration that ultimately came from Hardy.