The Sports Guru
Wales do not get many days like this, so it is worth marking one when it arrives. This covers their 39-24 win over Fiji in the Nations Championship, a six-try afternoon led by two from Jac Morgan, the second-half surge that broke a stubborn Fijian side, and the fact, small but not nothing, that Wales have now won back-to-back internationals for the first time in three years. The scoreboard read Fiji 24-39 Wales, the venue was a Cardiff football ground, and the mood, for once, was upbeat.
Wales scored six tries, held their nerve after a level first half and beat Fiji 39-24 to open their Nations Championship campaign with a bonus point. Jac Morgan led the way with two tries and a defensive shift that earned him the player-of-the-match award, and Wales pulled clear after the break through Rhys Carre, Josh Adams, Ryan Elias and Eddie James. It was, by the recent standards of Welsh rugby, a comfortable and even enjoyable afternoon, and it delivered something the national side has not managed in three years: two wins in a row. That is where the bar has been, and Wales just cleared it.
A first half that refused to break
For 40 minutes this was a proper contest. Fiji, all offloads and broad shoulders, threw everything at Wales and the sides went in level at 10-10, which flattered nobody and told the truth about how the half had gone. Morgan set the tone early, directing his forwards over the line for a maul try in the 10th minute, the kind of unglamorous score that wins tight Tests. Wales then had to defend, and defend properly, as Fiji's ball-carriers tried to bully a way through. Keeping the visitors to ten points by the interval was an achievement in itself, and it left the game exactly where Wales would have wanted it: still there to be won.
Morgan and the second-half surge
The game turned in the third quarter, and it turned quickly. Wales scored two tries in short order through prop Rhys Carre and wing Josh Adams to move two scores clear, and once the lead was established they had the control to see it out. Hooker Ryan Elias and centre Eddie James added further tries, Morgan got his second, and Dan Edwards and Sam Costelow contributed nine points between them off the tee. Six tries is a healthy return for a side that has spent recent seasons scratching around for any at all, and the spread of scorers, forwards and backs alike, is the more encouraging detail. This was not one player carrying Wales. It was a team functioning.
Fiji made them earn it
Fiji were not passengers in their own defeat. They crossed three times, through flanker Pita-Gus Sowakula, number eight Elia Canakaivata and wing Selestino Ravutaumada, with fly-half Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula kicking nine points, and there were spells when their power in contact had Wales hanging on. The final margin should not disguise how awkward they were to play against. The backdrop was less rousing than the rugby: this was the first rugby international staged at Cardiff City's football home, and a crowd of 16,456 in a stadium built for another sport gave the occasion a slightly muted feel. The players supplied the drama the setting did not.
Small margins, real progress for Wales
It would be easy to file this as a routine win over a tier-two side and move on, but Welsh rugby has not had the luxury of routine wins for some time. Back-to-back victories for the first time in three years is the sort of line that reads like faint praise and lands like relief, given how thin the good days have been. The result does not fix the deeper problems, and anyone who has followed the turmoil in the Welsh professional game knows a bonus-point win over Fiji settles none of it. Momentum has to start somewhere, though, and a side scoring six tries and defending with the discipline Morgan demanded is a better foundation than most of what Wales have offered lately.
Verdict: a good day Wales badly needed
Wales will not get carried away, and nor should anyone else, but this was a genuinely encouraging afternoon. They matched Fiji's physicality when they had to, cut loose when the game opened up, and found points from all over the pack and backline. Jac Morgan was excellent, the second-half surge was clinical, and the bonus point is a useful early marker in a competition where every point may matter. Two wins on the trot is a modest headline in most countries. In Wales, right now, it counts as a green shoot, and after the last few years the supporters who made it to Cardiff City Stadium were entitled to enjoy one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wales beat Fiji 39-24 in their Nations Championship opener at Cardiff City Stadium. Wales scored six tries to Fiji's three, securing a bonus point, and led by a two-score margin after pulling clear in the second half. The sides had been level at 10-10 at half-time before Wales took control.
Wales scored six tries. Flanker Jac Morgan crossed twice, including a maul try in the 10th minute, and there were further tries for prop Rhys Carre, wing Josh Adams, hooker Ryan Elias and centre Eddie James. Dan Edwards and Sam Costelow added nine points between them with the boot. Morgan was named player of the match.
Fiji were competitive throughout and level at the break. They scored three tries, through Pita-Gus Sowakula, Elia Canakaivata and Selestino Ravutaumada, with fly-half Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula kicking nine points. Their power in contact troubled Wales at times, and the final margin was harsher on them than the balance of the contest suggested.
The fixture was staged at Cardiff City Stadium, the home of the city's football club, and it was the first rugby international played at the ground. The crowd of 16,456 was modest for an international, giving the occasion a quieter atmosphere than a Test at a traditional rugby venue would carry, though it did not affect the quality of the rugby on show.
Sources: Reporting by BBC Sport, corroborated by Sky Sports, RugbyPass, News24 and Ruck.
