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Wales boss Wayne Pivac hailed Louis Rees-Zammit’s “express pace” after he scored a stunning solo try that helped defeat Fiji 38-23 in Cardiff.
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The Wales wing struck six minutes from time though a 50-metre individual effort that saw him outpace Fiji’s defensive cover and turn a tight, tense contest Wales’ way.
“That’s what he can do,” Pivac said. “You can’t coach that. It is express pace.
“I was pleased for him. He was marked fairly heavily, and I was really pleased that he showed individual brilliance and the raw pace that he has. It’s great to have him in your side.”
Wales survived a major fright against 14-man Fiji before claiming their first victory of the Autumn Nations Series.
Fiji had wing Eroni Sau sent off and two players sin-binned, but Wales found it tough going until wing Alex Cuthbert marked his first Test appearance for four years with a crucial try 13 minutes from time and Rees-Zammit then took centre-stage.
Hooker Ryan Elias touched down twice, and there were also tries for scrum-half Kieran Hardy and full-back Liam Williams, with Dan Biggar and Callum Sheedy each kicking two conversions.
Pivac added: “It was probably everything you would expect in a Wales-Fiji game. Everything we talked about before the game pretty much came to fruition.
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“There was a lot of off-loading going on in the early part of the game, and we talked about being accurate defensively.
“The biggest problem for us in the first 60 minutes was the fact we had separation at the breakdown.
“They were very strong over the ball, and we talked about that all week along. That’s a concern, and it is something we will be working very hard on this week.”
Asked about Fiji’s red card and two yellows, Pivac said: “I don’t think you can put the cart before the horse and worry about what it does to the game.
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PLAYER RATINGS: Wales came through in the end, even if the scoreline flattered the hosts.
Here's how we rated the players. #WALvFJI #AutumnNationsSeries https://t.co/fYfJSvhDnE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2021
“Any team that infringes in that way in your 22, you are going to get a card, and unfortunately for Fiji, that happened today.”
Prop WillGriff John and lock Will Rowlands suffered head knocks – John went off just seven minutes into his first Test start – while Josh Adams, who was due to start at outside centre, was withdrawn just before kick-off.
Wales conclude their autumn Tests by hosting Australia next weekend, and Pivac said: “Josh just felt something in his leg in the warm-up.
Wales pull away from a spirited Fiji to win in Cardiff 🏴 #AutumnNationsSeries #WALvFJI pic.twitter.com/KOyfyLJ9bv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2021
“He wanted to start the game and see how it went, but we certainly weren’t going to allow that to happen. He was concerned about letting his team-mates down.
“We had a couple of head knocks – WillGriff John and Will Rowlands. With a six-day turnaround, we will just have to see how they are tomorrow. It could be that we dig a bit deeper into the squad. We would have to say they are in doubt.”
Reflecting on the game, Pivac added: “Fiji were very physical, and at times we were knocked off our stride. It’s as simple as that.
“Fiji are so big and strong over the ball, guys who can get over the ball and are strong over it. They didn’t let us down in that area, and you have got to give credit to the opposition.
“Fiji threw everything as us. They went down a man, and that galvanised them.”
Fiji, almost triumphed over adversity after Sau was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Wales centre Johnny Williams after 25 minutes.
Captain Waisea Nayacalevu scored two tries – his second score being a spectacular team try – while fly-half Ben Volavola kicked 13 points and they led 23-14 after an hour.
Fiji head coach Gareth Baber said: “There is a way of playing the game. We play it physical, but you’ve got to have control.
“Cards hurt teams, and particularly playing against a team like Wales, you get three in a game and you are probably looking at a loss.
“We hassled Wales and didn’t let them settle on the game that they wanted to play. We were physical in everything we did.
“I am immensely proud of a group of players who really only came together 10 days ago.”
Comments on RugbyPass
He would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to comments