Wales head coach Steve Tandy praised his side’s fighting spirit that ensured they did not fall victim to Fijian magic.
- Six tries and set-piece dominance secured Wales win, with tries from Jac Morgan, Rhys Carre, Josh Adams, Ryan Elias, and Eddie James.
- Wales weathered a strong Fiji first half onslaught, resisting their ball-in-hand threat and offloads to regain control.
- Defence, scramble work, and physical collision dominance were praised by coach Steve Tandy and captain Dewi Lake.
- Wales face tough Tests away: Argentina in San Juan, then South Africa in Durban, key challenges ahead.
Wales scored six tries as they got their Nations Championship campaign off to a perfect start with a 39-24 victory at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
Fit-again flanker Jac Morgan went over twice in the first half and was followed over by loose-head prop Rhys Carre, wing Josh Adams, hooker Ryan Elias and centre Eddie James.
The scoreline made it look like a comfortable victory, but Wales had to cope with a Fijian onslaught in the first half.
“I was really proud of the boys and the effort they showed,” said Tandy.
“It wasn’t perfect and you have to give credit to Fiji, because they produce some magical stuff.”
“Our boys kept going at it, chased things down and didn’t give up. Some of the goalline stuff was outstanding and the set-piece was excellent.”
“The scramble defence was good and the fight in the group is outstanding.”
Fiji made 469 metres with ball in hand to Wales’ 66 in the first half, while they made 104 carries and 25 offloads.
Tandy said: “In Test rugby there are some quality players with power and pace but I love the fact that our boys kept climbing in, and the control of the second half was pleasing.”
“To score six tries is outstanding and I love when it comes from set-piece, even if it wasn’t Fijian-style rugby.”
Wales now go up against two formidable packs in Argentina and South Africa. First up are the Pumas away in San Juan on Saturday, 11 July (20:10 BST) and then come the Springboks in Durban the following Saturday.
“Our dominance in the set-piece made things a lot easier for us but we were physical as well,” said captain Dewi Lake.
“When we had the ball, we dominated collisions and we got on the front foot. We showed how physical we can be.”
Wales flanker Jac Morgan told S4C: “All credit to the boys for sticking with it for the 80 minutes and to come out with the win.”
Wales wing Josh Adams told S4C: “It was important to win again. Fair play to Fiji, they play fantastic rugby and a lot of people say that is the way to play rugby, they were really hard to stop.”
“It was a tough game, but we did well in that second half, we closed the game out and we’re glad to get the win.”
“In the week we spoke about boxing Fiji in, I was just chasing hard and I got quite lucky.”
“We didn’t think they’d score two minutes in, we knew how dangerous they were. But we got together and fought our way back into the game.”
“We’ve shown how much we’ve developed since the Six Nations and we want to keep building.”
Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones told S4C: “The scoreline looks comfortable, which doesn’t tell the full story.”
Former Wales centre Jonathan Davies told S4C: “This is the best performance under Steve Tandy so far, especially after the first half.”
“Fiji had all the play in the first half, but in the second half Wales controlled where the game was played and showed a lot of maturity.”
“Everyone thought Fiji were really dangerous and could beat them by running the ball, but Wales showed a lot in that second half.”
Former Wales hooker Ken Owens told S4C: “Six months ago we would have lost that, but under Steve Tandy our defence has been a lot better.”
“They showed character and passion today to find a way to win and it wasn’t pretty at times.”
“They were under pressure a lot, but they found a way to win which is what you need to do at international level.”
