Posted by It felt like there was a lot of coverage of how warm it was in Bordeaux on Sunday evening as Wales took on Fiji to get the Rugby World Cup underway, but nobody was quite as concerned about how warm I was watching from my sofa in West Wales.
New build houses are great in winter when the insulation saves you from extortionate price of gas and electric, but in a late summer heatwave they transform into a live-in sauna. When you’re making every tackle and kicking every ball watching Wales at the World Cup, the pre-season training of beer and chocolate fudge cake isn’t ideal preparation.
And it was breathless! Fiji played at a thousand miles an hour when given the platform. Semi Radradra and Waisea Nayacelavu were a whirlwind of pace and power, Lekima Tagitagivalu linked play perfectly and Frank Lomani was the ideal conductor of the orchestra. For Wales it was expected that the opposition would score, but some of the tackling technique was suspect at best.
However, while everyone expected the Flying Fijians to be playing all the rugby, the men in red were creating a highlight reel of their own, thanks in-part to players switching roles. Jac Morgan with the vision to put in a cross kick that led to Louis Rees-Zammit’s score, while Josh Adams won the biggest hit of the day and followed it up with the successful jackal.
Wales for 65 minutes were right on course. Clinical on visits to the 22, strong at the set piece, committed in defence to force Fiji into longer attacking sets and make them work hard for their points, while the kicking game improved as the encounter wore on as the opposition were asked to attack from deeper.
Gareth Thomas cemented his position as the number one in the number one jersey, Will Rowlands was colossal in the engine room; carrying, tackling, lineout and even popping up with a jackal, Aaron Wainwright took the “King of the Rip” crown from Owen Watkin, while Dan Biggar was typically abrasive and managed proceedings to perfection, although there was some risky upright tackling.
The centre partnership of Nick Tompkins and George North was cutting in attack and just about stood up to a defensive onslaught, while Josh Adams produced a timely reminder of the qualities that Wales’ best winger for the last four years possesses.
There is concern for Warren Gatland, it has to be said. Errors being compounded by errors in the final 15 minutes invited unilateral pressure and very nearly cost the win, some favourable refereeing also offered some assistance, while the sheer number of tackles (253!) and the physicality required to cling on is not sustainable for a deep run into the tournament.
In the greyness of Monday morning though it’s five points in the bag, a very good performance for the majority of the proceedings, and a huge weight lifted for the players, coaches and supporters who had been laser focused on the Fiji clash for at least six months, if not longer.
The expectation now is that Wales will make a number of changes for the Portugal game next week with a six-day turnaround and Australia on the horizon, but I also hope the game plan will begin to evolve away from soaking up defensive pressure and hitting on the attack in small flashes, to dominating possession and territory in order to control games and manage energy exertion.
We have beaten the best team in the pool, let’s back ourselves to kick on and take the tournament by the scruff of the neck. Ymlaen Cymru!
Cardiff Rugby Life 