WALES captain Sam Warburton believes a long overdue win over Australia at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow will give the nation a huge lift.

The hosts’ Wallabies hoodoo is well known after suffering eight successive defeats to the men in gold.

At least three of those setbacks could easily have gone Wales’ way, Warburton’s side losing narrowly in the dying seconds last year with a 25-23 reverse in Melbourne before going down 14-12 in Cardiff.

Since Wales last claimed a southern hemisphere scalp, a 21-18 victory against Australia in 2008, they have lost an appalling 17 times in a row when taking on the former Tri Nations sides, the Wallabies, New Zealand and South Africa.

They will take heart that more than half of the hosts’ match-day squad tomorrow – 12 in total – have been on the winning side against the Aussies before.

Ten of them featured this summer in victorious Tests for the British and Irish Lions who took the series 2-1 against the Australians – Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Mike Phillips, Richard Hibbard, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric, Toby Faletau and Warburton.

Ryan Jones captained the last Wales side to beat the Wallabies, an encounter which also featured tighthead prop Gethin Jenkins, who will win his 101st cap this weekend.

The 25-year-old Warburton captained the Lions on the recent tour, playing in the first two Tests before a hamstring injury put him out of the deciding third encounter which his side won 41-16.

But he desperately wants his first win against one of the SANZAR nations in a Wales shirt as he outlined in a press conference yesterday.

"I've always thought that Wales can't be called (World Cup) contenders, really, until we beat the southern hemisphere sides,” he said.

“It is obviously a big hurdle for Wales, and we have got to desperately try to achieve that this weekend. It would be massive to get a win.”

Warburton, who wins his 41st cap this weekend, added: “If we could finish with a win, so it's three out of four in the autumn, after a successful Six Nations and the contingent who were involved with the Lions, it would probably be one of the most successful years Wales will have had in a while. That is a big motivating factor for me.

“There is still another campaign next autumn, so it is not like now or never, it's not like someone is holding a gun to your head and you have to win this weekend, but sooner, rather than later would be nicer because it gives you momentum going into the Six Nations.

"It's not just about the World Cup, you want momentum going into the Six Nations next year. It would be great for Wales as a nation, it would mean so much to the players, management and fans. Everyone would love to see that result.

“The main factor is just how much joy it would bring to the country if we did beat Australia."