Wales player ratings v Fiji: ‘Talisman’ highlights his ‘importance’ in lively contest where ‘poacher’s instinct’ also stood out
Jac Morgan skippered Wales to a win over Fiji that included a poacher's try from Josh Adams, inset
Following their hard-earned 39-24 victory over Fiji in their ‘away’ Nations Championship match at Cardiff City Stadium, here is how we rated Steve Tandy’s Wales players.
Wales player ratings
15 Blair Murray: Did enough with his last-ditch coverage to make Selestino Ravutaumada butcher a 19th-minute finish. His super catch and carry then ignited the move for the Rhys Carré second-half try. 7
14 Louis Rees-Zammit: Ended up on his back in touch with his first carry and that moment was emblematic of a day where he was anonymous and subbed off with 24 minutes remaining. 4
13 Eddie James: His first involvement was a pass to Josh Adams that went forward, and that mishap generally summed up what followed as this wasn’t a match made for creative Welsh midfield play. Still, toughed it out, tackled hard and was rewarded with a last-minute try under the posts. 5
12 Joe Hawkins: Another whose ball involvement was limited, but he at least had the cushion of an innocuous kick ahead becoming a try assist due to dithering in the Fijian defence. Went on from there to help close down the Fijian midfield attack. 5
11 Josh Adams: As with Rees-Zammit, he was starved of invitations to get involved before he brilliantly reminded everyone of his poacher’s instinct with a super 46th minute finish. He had no right to score when following up Hawkins’ kick, but he slid in between Ravutaumada’s legs to get the downward touch with his right hand before the ball reached the dead ball line. 7
10 Dan Edwards: Another day of great learning for the 23-year-old. The way he dusted himself down from successive juddering collisions with Semi Radradra and Josua Tuisova in the first half highlighted his increasing robustness coping with the Test-level physicality. Did well in his 62 minutes to have Wales 25-24 in front by the time of his departure. 6
9 Tomos Williams: Although he played the full 80, this wasn’t a match where his usual dynamism was a feature. It said much about Wales’ attack that three of their six tries emanated from the lineout maul, illustrating how limited their attack was compared to Fiji’s ambition. Showed up better in defence and had the joy of a 76th-minute jackal penalty win. 6
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The forwards
8 Aaron Wainwright: The calibre of his carrying stood out last weekend in London, but it was much tougher going here to make a dent during his 73 minutes on the field. Delivered what he could in this area, but his most important moment was his 19th-minute intervention in defence to deny Fijian prop Tim Hoyt scoring. 6
7 Jac Morgan: Talisman showed exactly why he is so important to Wales with his pair of first-half maul tries and his defensive persistence in getting stuck into the flying Fijians when they weren’t offloading. Topped the tackle count and was rewarded with the official player of the match award. 8
6 Alex Mann: Off for a fourth-minute head injury assessment after Fiji had opened the scoring but he got through the examination, going on to feature until his 56th-minute substitution. His was a tough-going display, including a 27th-minute knock-on near the try line and then coughing up an unnecessary breakdown penalty that led to the 54th-minute Fijian maul try. 5
Fiji v Wales: Result, match details, stats, line-ups
5 Adam Beard: Restored to the team following last weekend’s Top14 final duty with Montpellier, his work rate was important in wearing down the Fijian pack. Enjoyed a healthy number of tackles and was at the heart of the rolling maul that repeatedly kept on rolling with great success. 7
4 Ben Carter: Excellent at Twickenham, he was effective here as well in his 80-minute effort. As with Beard, he will be thrilled the maul was so potent and so crucial to the result. 7
3 Dillon Lewis: The Welsh scrum didn’t go well last weekend versus the Baa-Baas with him starting, so a ninth-minute penalty win in his 47-minute was a welcome improvement as was another award in the 39th. 6
2 Dewi Lake (c): An afternoon full of useful grunt work. The skipper reliably fed a tidy lineout that produced two maul tries, and he also put in a heap of tackles across his 62 minutes. 7
1 Rhys Carré: Back in the team to help stabilise the scrum after last week’s issues, his most prominent moment came in the 44th minute, three minutes before his substitution, when he burrowed over the line to score a very different try from his famed marathon run-in away to Ireland in March. 6
Replacements: There was a Test debut for tighthead Ben Warren and he will have enjoyed seeing his team score via the midfield at the death from quality scrum ball, but Wales’ most significant reserve was Ellis Mee, who had earlier got their third maul try at a crucial moment with Fiji looking to make good their fightback. 5