Wales boss Warren Gatland insists it is time to deliver © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Warren Gatland

Teams: Wales

Wales coach Warren Gatland believes a high-profile scalp next month could lay the foundation for greater triumphs at Rugby World Cup 2011.

Gatland's side face Australia, South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand in an action-packed autumn campaign looking to improve on a poor record against the three southern hemisphere giants that has seen them win just two of their last 31 contests - those successes coming against the Wallabies in 2005 and 2008. And the Kiwi boss believes another major scalp could go a long way to defining how far his current crop of players could go at next year's Rugby World Cup.

"We need a big win and the fans, together with the Millennium Stadium factor, can really help us," urged Gatland ahead of their opener against the Wallabies on November 6. "Once we beat one of these big sides the floodgates will open and we really feel we are on the cusp of having a very special Wales team on our hands.

"We have reached a tipping point in the development of this side and a full house against the Wallabies for that first game in November could be the thing to take us to that next step and kick start our international season in the most important of years for Welsh rugby.

"With both South Africa and Fiji in our World Cup pool next year and New Zealand and Australia leading the rugby world at the moment these matches are also vital potential scalps for us."

Gatland has also suggested that any player involved in a victory over one of the world's top three sides will be a lot closer to selection for the World Cup opener against the Springboks in Wellington on September 11, 2011.

"The Wales side on display against the Wallabies on Saturday November 6, if it wins, should closely resemble the side which carries the expectations of a nation on its shoulders in that first RWC outing against the Boks in less than a year and the same can be said for the Springboks and All Blacks matches," he said.

Gatland is happy to publicly state he is looking for results in the autumn series and he admits the time is now right for a big win. "We have got time before the World Cup, but not much time, and we want to see performances this November which show we are going in the right direction."