Nathan Grey confident of success ahead of 'tough' northern hemisphere tour

Australia assistant coach Nathan Grey insists his team has the potential to bounce back hard after having a tough year.

Since their World Cup final defeat to New Zealand in October 2015, Australia have played 10 Tests and managed wins in just three games. In the process they were beaten three times each by the World Champions All Blacks and also by Eddie Jones' England.

Australia are scheduled to take on Wales, Scotland, France, Ireland and England in their autumn Tests and Grey admitted it is natural for teams to think the Wallabies are "vulnerable" considering the poor run of form they had this year.

However, the 41-year-old feels with proper belief and preparation Australia can beat any team in the world.

"It is understandable if people think we are vulnerable after this year," Wallabies assistant coach Grey said, following the squad's arrival in Cardiff on Wednesday.

"People can make judgements on how strong we are, and we do not hide behind the fact we have been beaten three times by New Zealand and England.

"It is a matter of identifying what we did well and growing as a team. We believe if we get our preparation right, we will be in a position to put Wales under pressure with the ball and without it.

"We intend to improve the fundamentals of our game and our consistency. When we get it right, we believe we can trouble any team in the world. It is about having the belief in the squad to do that."

Australia have won 28 out of the 39 encounters against Wales previously and also have a win percentage of 64.58 playing away from home against Rob Howley's men.

Wales will have a number of key players missing due to different reasons but Grey urged the team not to remain complacent. '

"Wales' series against New Zealand in the summer is a key indicator of how they play against world-class sides," he added.

"We learnt a lot from that and saw how dangerous they can be with ball in hand and on the counter-attack.

"Wales are missing some players, but their coaching staff is very experienced and they have a big squad. They are very clear in the way they play the game, and any players who come in will slot into the system.

"We have come here with the purpose of improving every time we play. A five-week tour is a big challenge, and the players and the coaching staff are focused on the first performance against Wales.

"We are not looking too far down the road. Saturday is a chance to start our tour playing a style of rugby that we can be proud of."