WALES coach Neil Jenkins expects Australia to show their danger with ball in hand when they get their tour of the north under way this weekend, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Wallabies take on the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday as the warm-up for their Tests against Wales, France, Ireland and England.

The players will be desperate to impress new coach Michael Cheika with the likes of Israel Folau, Christian Leali’ifano, Tevita Kuridrani and Quade Cooper out to strut their stuff – and get the win.

“The style of rugby Australia play is very attractive,” said Jenkins. “They keep ball in hand and they have got some fantastic players.

“I am sure they will buy into the spirit of the game against the Barbarians, but as a proven Test side they will probably want to win it a well, look at some key combinations and some guys coming back from injury.

“They will want to get off to a winning start.”

Jenkins doesn’t believe that Australia’s coaching turmoil, with Ewen McKenzie quitting less than a year before the World Cup, plays into Wales hands.

“I think it will make life harder,” he said. “I thought Ewen Mackenzie did a pretty good job and they played some good rugby, but with Michael coming in now they have a man who is a proven winner wherever he has been.

“The Waratahs did really well in winning the Super Rugby title this year, he will give them a different edge and something maybe they have been lacking.

“When a new coach comes in teams tend to perform pretty well, there are places up for grabs and players can stick their hands up on this tour.

“I don’t think it is a good thing for us and it will be very tough a week on Saturday.”

Wales are hopeful that their three injured centres – Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams and Cory Allen – will be available for the autumn opener.

And Jenkins hopes that the graft shown by the squad bodes well for a testing autumn that pits them against the Wallabies, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa.

He said: “We have worked incredibly hard. Whenever we have been in good shape and on top of our condition, we've achieved things.”