Wales v Fiji, 1 October

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WALES v FIJI
1 October 2015
KO: 16:45
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Live on [tbc]

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Touch judges: Jérôme Garcès (France) & Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

A. Head to Head

10 Played 10
8 Won 1
1 Drawn 1
1 Lost 8
306 Points 132

B. Recent Form

15 November 2014
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
17 – 13 to Wales

2 October 2011
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand
66 – 0 to Wales

19 November 2010
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
16 – 16 Draw

29 September 2007
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France
34 – 38 to Fiji

11 November 2005
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
11 – 10 to Wales

9 November 2002
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
58 – 14 to Wales

C. Teams

WALES

Matthew Morgan, Alex Cuthbert, Tyler Morgan, Jamie Roberts, George North, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton (captain), Dan Lydiate, Alun-Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, Tomas Francis, Scott Baldwin, Gethin Jenkins.

Reserves: Ken Owens, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, James Hook.

FIJI

Metuisela Talebula, Timoci Nagusa, Vereniki Goneva, Lepani Botia, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Ben Volavola, Nemia Kenatale; Netani Talei, Akapusi Qera (captain), Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Leone Nakarawa, Tevita Cavubati, Manasa Saulo, Sunia Koto, Campese Ma'afu.

Reserves: Viliame Veikoso, Peni Ravia, Leeroy Atalifo, Nemia Soqeta, Malakai Ravulo, Henry Seniloli, Joshua Matavesi, Kini Murimurivalu.

Again hopefully we can get the job done as early as possible and use the bench wisely. We had to pick our strongest side and make sure of the win or Saturday meant nothing but I am surprised there not a few more changes.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Again hopefully we can get the job done as early as possible and use the bench wisely.  We had to pick our strongest side and make sure of the win or Saturday meant nothing but I am surprised there not a few more changes.

What changes could we really make? We have no real depth in the pack, Paul James is clearly still injured so dropping Gethin with no replacement loose head is a non starter. Ken Owens hasn't really been on form recently, so Baldwin had to start. There is nothing between Tomas Francis and Sampson Lee at the moment. Alun Wyn was always going to start and Bradleys aggression is probably the best way forward. The Back row picks itself.

I'm just grateful all the injuries have been in the back line because if we suffered these kind of injuries in the pack then we'd of been screwed.

We HAVE to win this game, and we have a 10 day rest before Australia.

Shifty wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:Again hopefully we can get the job done as early as possible and use the bench wisely.  We had to pick our strongest side and make sure of the win or Saturday meant nothing but I am surprised there not a few more changes.

What changes could we really make?  We have no real depth in the pack, Paul James is clearly still injured so dropping Gethin with no replacement loose head is a non starter.  Ken Owens hasn't really been on form recently, so Baldwin had to start.  There is nothing between Tomas Francis and Sampson Lee at the moment.  Alun Wyn was always going to start and Bradleys aggression is probably the best way forward.  The Back row picks itself.  

I'm just grateful all the injuries have been in the back line because if we suffered these kind of injuries in the pack then we'd of been screwed.

We HAVE to win this game, and we have a 10 day rest before Australia.  

Shifty,

As I mentioned I am surprised we are still carrying James with his injury as Jenkins will have to play most of game and all against Australia. I might have given Ll Williams a start along with Charteris and Hook at XV but again like I said we have to play our strongest side just with few tweaks for me.

Lets hopefully get job done with a BP then rotate again.

Griff wrote:My preference as stated earlier would have been for Hook at 13 over Tyler Morgan and Anscombe at FB over Matthew Morgan.  However, in hindsight I can see that from a coaching point of view Gats would want to be loyal to the players already called up ahead of Hook and Anscombe, otherwise you'd have to question why these two were not called up earlier.  So I get the Tyler Morgan inclusion.  Just hope it's not a step too far too soon.  Wishing him the best of luck though.

Francis needs to improve from last week.  Didn't really notice hime around the pitch and he seemed to struggle at scrum time a bit.  Well, the whole front row did.  Gats has a habit of giving a poorly performing unit a second chance in the next game, so I think that's what he's doing here.I still think there's enough experience and firepower in the backs to cause problems and get points, even with our injury crisis.  The 2nd and back row looks powerful too.  My question marks are over the front row, 2 Morgans and Cuthbert so it will be their chance to prove the doubters wrong.

I would agree with that principle Griff but I get the impression Anscombe was initially chosen ahead of M Morgan. With that said I just want to see Morgan try to exploit the space and create some gaps for the big boys, he remains a mercurial talent and I like him on the field.

I like the team, I like that Gats has rewarded those players who were first called up into the squad, it shows no sign of panic.

In reality, even with first choice backs, this match was always going to be decided by our pack. I'm still slightly more of a fan of Charteris than Davies, although I doubt we'll need the Longdog's ability to disrupt the Fijian line out.

If we can spend 40-50 minutes staying strong in our set piece, using the pick and drive through the middle well, whilst using Roberts and North making yards in the midfield and keep errors to a minimum, then hopefully the game should be ours. Only then can we think about a BP.

I'm actually far more nervous about this game than I was about England!

Injuries are my biggest worry as we really are running out of backs. Surely though if Paul James isn't fit for the Australia game then we have to think about replacing him.

Good selection I reckon, He's simply replaced the injured players with the next in line in that position! Would ave been tempted myself to rotate the hookers and maybe Charteris with Bradders but hey ho!

Is noone else worried about the set peice, Fiji's lineout is going ok, but their scrum when on point has ruined both England and Austrlia!!!

They aren't as consistant as the other 2 but they have the capability to get the ref on side from the off.

There are lots of concerns Fanster but we have enough experience, power and skill to win this game. Fiji can be ill disciplined among other things and we need to focus on our strengths which should be enough to see us through.

Morgan could well get eaten alive and spat out by Fiji, he struggled to hold down a place in the Bristol team and lacks any sort of physical presence. The other big elephant in the room as I see it is the turn around. How much physically AND mentally did the win against England take out of Wales? Im not convinced Wales will be able to play at any sort of intensity. This game could be close, very close!

RubyGuby wrote:There are lots of concerns Fanster but we have enough experience, power and skill to win this game. Fiji can be ill disciplined among other things and we need to focus on our strengths which should be enough to see us through.

Experience I get, and points will come through Biggar, but I don't see us getting a consistant set peice advantage, which will limit our platform and disrupt momentum.

I worry about the Morgans ability to respond to the chaotic environment Fiji will put them in, Fiji were unlucky not to score a few more tries in their last 2 games, and a few key performances kept them out, I don't see that from Wales.

If we win i'll be happy, but I don't see a BP, unless its a harem scarem free for all, then I think we might get 1 or 2 BP's, but maybe not the win.

Fanster wrote:Is noone else worried about the set peice, Fiji's lineout is going ok, but their scrum when on point has ruined both England and Austrlia!!!

They aren't as consistant as the other 2 but they have the capability to get the ref on side from the off.

The scrum is an interesting one for Wales, we haven't had problems apart from with Garces. Gethin looked very despondent after the first scrum Saturday evening, as though there was little he could do when he was penalised.

Garces was at the other side of the scrum.

wrfc1980 wrote:Morgan could well get eaten alive and spat out by Fiji, he struggled to hold down a place in the Bristol team and lacks any sort of physical presence. The other big elephant in the room as I see it is the turn around. How much physically AND mentally did the win against England take out of Wales? Im not convinced Wales will be able to play at any sort of intensity. This game could be close, very close!

the desperation here is hilarious.

Shifty wrote:Excellent replacements, no reason not have have total confidence in both players.  

I would never have total confidence in any player, in any sport. And with these two, there are certainly reasons not to have total confidence in them.

Fanster wrote:

RubyGuby wrote:There are lots of concerns Fanster but we have enough experience, power and skill to win this game. Fiji can be ill disciplined among other things and we need to focus on our strengths which should be enough to see us through.

Experience I get, and points will come through Biggar, but I don't see us getting a consistant set peice advantage, which will limit our platform and disrupt momentum.

I worry about the Morgans ability to respond to the chaotic environment Fiji will put them in, Fiji were unlucky not to score a few more tries in their last 2 games, and a few key performances kept them out, I don't see that from Wales.

If we win i'll be happy, but I don't see a BP, unless its a harem scarem free for all, then I think we might get 1 or 2 BP's, but maybe not the win.

It depends who the ref is. In our last encounter against Fiji we had a weak ref and it showed. I think we'll have set piece dominance but it needs to get properly rewarded. The only concern I have is how we deal with fijis strike runners.

Do we know about the Fijian team? They play again on Tuesday, a match that if they lose Thursday, the must win to qualify automatically for 2019. May they rest a few?

Tyler will have to be on the money against Goneva. That does worry me a little. That said, I am more confident with him playing in our best available side than I was with the team Gatland put him in against Ireland.

chris_501 wrote:Do we know about the Fijian team? They play again on Tuesday, a match that if they lose Thursday, the must win to qualify automatically for 2019. May they rest a few?

I doubt it. They will be fine against Uruguay, so if players did need a rest they can get it there. They're in a position where they're fresher than Wales (in theory).

I'm glad to see Morgan get a start. He may be small but he's just the sort of player to break play up. Also with Fiji being so big he may be able to nip between there legs...

mikey_dragon wrote:

Fanster wrote:

RubyGuby wrote:There are lots of concerns Fanster but we have enough experience, power and skill to win this game. Fiji can be ill disciplined among other things and we need to focus on our strengths which should be enough to see us through.

Experience I get, and points will come through Biggar, but I don't see us getting a consistant set peice advantage, which will limit our platform and disrupt momentum.

I worry about the Morgans ability to respond to the chaotic environment Fiji will put them in, Fiji were unlucky not to score a few more tries in their last 2 games, and a few key performances kept them out, I don't see that from Wales.

If we win i'll be happy, but I don't see a BP, unless its a harem scarem free for all, then I think we might get 1 or 2 BP's, but maybe not the win.

It depends who the ref is. In our last encounter against Fiji we had a weak ref and it showed. I think we'll have set piece dominance but it needs to get properly rewarded. The only concern I have is how we deal with fijis strike runners.

John Lacey is the ref I think... He is pretty crap to be honest.

I hope Morgan goes well at FB but I'm worried. Personally I wouldn't have had him anywhere near the squad.

I like the rest of the team - we really must go all out for 5 points.

Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals,get real if England win and you lose to
Australia your out.Unless you get a win plus 2 bonus points from your last two games
neither of which are a given.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Shifty wrote:Excellent replacements, no reason not have have total confidence in both players.  

I would never have total confidence in any player, in any sport. And with these two, there are certainly reasons not to have total confidence in them.

Why? I've never seen Anscombe or Hook play like Priestland does!
Hook has played some brilliant games for Wales over the years.

emack2 wrote:Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals,get real if England win and you lose to
Australia your out.Unless you get a win plus 2 bonus points from your last two games
neither of which are a given.

I see you're still enjoying them grapes emack - We know this is a big ask for us and getting to the 1/4's would be some achievement given our injuries. If England win, they deserve to go through -

emack2 wrote:Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals,get real if England win and you lose to
Australia your out.Unless you get a win plus 2 bonus points from your last two games
neither of which are a given.

Agree.. said there are some counting their chickens too early. Lose to Fiji and it all unravels.

Saying that, win against Fiji and Aus beat Eng, and Eng blown it and we play Aus for top spot.

However, we have to play Fiji, first to win, but then to get BP, so that we make Aus pay for not getting a BP against them. Then, if Eng beat Aus, we have to make sure we get a BP out of our game with them to keep us in contention. And although I'm not sure we will beat Aus, I don't think Aus will run away, so a losing BP there is more than possible.

As for "Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals".. What about all the hype that England would be in the final before a ball was kicked...

He's a NZ fan by the way.

No 7&1/2 wrote:He's a NZ fan by the way.

He sounds mighty worried for a NZ fan - Must be a closet anglo

He's English but prefers to watch a winning team.

emack2 wrote:Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals,get real if England win and you lose to
Australia your out.Unless you get a win plus 2 bonus points from your last two games
neither of which are a given.

What a strange post. You've clearly taken no time to read this thread in any detail. The vast majority of us have said we NEED to put out a full strength team against Fiji or we could lose and be out. How is that akin to us being over confident and looking ahead to a semi final?! We're looking no further than Fiji, as we know better than most how easy it is to come unstuck against them.

Poor show from you.

No 7&1/2 wrote:He's English but prefers to watch a winning team.

I know that feeling and NZ have been my 2nd favs since 1973 when as a 10 year old I saw them play against the Barbarians in Cardiff - what a match

Fiji team is out, no Nadolo or Matawalu.

No 7&1/2 wrote:He's English but prefers to watch a winning team.

a bit like that long list of Welsh players listed the other day who were born in England...?

wrfc1980 wrote:Morgan could well get eaten alive and spat out by Fiji, he struggled to hold down a place in the Bristol team and lacks any sort of physical presence. The other big elephant in the room as I see it is the turn around. How much physically AND mentally did the win against England take out of Wales? Im not convinced Wales will be able to play at any sort of intensity. This game could be close, very close!

I don't think Dan Biggar will allow Wales to play stupid rugby against Fiji, he'll just bomb them back with kicks and play in their 22. Although I am concerned about Morgan as a defensive full back. It's a bit like playing football without a goal keeper!

chris_501 wrote:Fiji team is out, no Nadolo or Matawalu.

Talebula; Nagusa, Goneva, Botia, Tikoirotuma; Volavola, Kenatale; Ma'afu, Koto, Saulo, Cavubati, Nakarawa, Waqaniburoto, Qera, Talei.

Replacements: Veikoso, Peni Ravia, Atalifo, Soqeta, Ravulo, Seniloli, Matavesi, Murimurivalu

Six changes...!

That wasn't me but I would suggest most of them have chosen Wales as they feel Welsh and some as they were offered an opportunity to be involved with Wales ahead of England.

Shifty wrote:

wrfc1980 wrote:Morgan could well get eaten alive and spat out by Fiji, he struggled to hold down a place in the Bristol team and lacks any sort of physical presence. The other big elephant in the room as I see it is the turn around. How much physically AND mentally did the win against England take out of Wales? Im not convinced Wales will be able to play at any sort of intensity. This game could be close, very close!

I don't think Dan Biggar will allow Wales to play stupid rugby against Fiji, he'll just bomb them back with kicks and play in their 22.  Although I am concerned about Morgan as a defensive full back.  It's a bit like playing football without a goal keeper!

Biggar can only have so much influence. If Fiji are kicking the ball at Morgan (which I would if I were them) then Biggar can not stop him from running the ball straight at the Fijians. I just hope he doesn't end up the next on the medics table.

Wales just need to keep it in the forwards. Such the strength out of fiji and cut loose in the second half.

Shifty wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Shifty wrote:Excellent replacements, no reason not have have total confidence in both players.  

I would never have total confidence in any player, in any sport. And with these two, there are certainly reasons not to have total confidence in them.

Why? I've never seen Anscombe or Hook play like Priestland does!
Hook has played some brilliant games for Wales over the years.

He's also had some shockers, hence his omission from the squad.

No Matawalu !!!! Well thats just boosted my confidence. Come on, we can beat this Fiji side, can't we ?

I am bricking it all over again. I have lost the euphoria of beating England, to crapping myself over the next game in the space of two days. I will take all our points from rolling mauls on Thursday thanks boys. No need to be fancy, just grind them out in the forwards.

Please, Please, Please God. Let us win, and no more injuries.

I winced when I heard Martyn Williams predict we would win comfortably. I won't feel comfortable until the job's done!

Injuries are the main concern, the boys are doing ok high on the confidence from the weekend.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Shifty wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Shifty wrote:Excellent replacements, no reason not have have total confidence in both players.  

I would never have total confidence in any player, in any sport. And with these two, there are certainly reasons not to have total confidence in them.

Why? I've never seen Anscombe or Hook play like Priestland does!
Hook has played some brilliant games for Wales over the years.

He's also had some shockers, hence his omission from the squad.

Glad you said that Luckless (because I didnt want to be seen to be the one to back up The Priest against the selective memory brigade again) however have seen Hook produce two really outstanding Welsh games (about the same as Priestland has had IMHO), but have some absolutely dire games as well particularly at FB and FH, hospital passes, interception passes against him, running into no mans land and giving penalties away, inconsistent kicking and more turnovers against him than most welsh players.

I actually thought Priestland had a pretty good game at 15 when he came on, particularly as in such a high octane pressurised situation, he made two outstanding under pressure high-ball catches, beat a couple of England defenders, made a few good runs, and had two cracking tackles that stopped the English run in its tracks, not bad for all of the 15 mins he was on for.

Saying all I would rather Hook started at 13 (apologies but I havent seen Tyle Morgan much) if only because he has had so much experience of playing alongside Roberts in the Welsh midfield. I also would probably have started Priestland at 15 instead of Morgan.

I think we need to trust Gatland - Priestland did do well when he came on and Ive become one of his biggest critics. Tyler will tackle better than Hook in midfield as he's a big lad. Morgan at FB just excites me.

RubyGuby wrote:I think we need to trust Gatland - Priestland did do well when he came on and Ive become one of his biggest critics. Tyler will tackle better than Hook in midfield as he's a big lad. Morgan at FB just excites me.

Hook hasn't played at thirteen for a while so it will take him some time to get re-aquatinted particularly, as you mention, in defence.

Hook probably shouldn't be in this 23. He hasn't played at 12 or 13 for years, and his Wales cameo's since then have been at 10 and 15. It is also likely that Hook won't be involved in the Wales team after the world cup, so that should have worked in Anscombe's favour and he is the guy I believe should be at 23 on Thursday. If Tyler gets injured it'll surely be North back to 13, Matthew Morgan to wing and Hook to 15.

As for Priestland, I agree he did do very well when we had his England cameo, the usual cameo that he is lucky to get these days. On the basis of that I probably would have started him at 15. It wouldn't be his first time playing there. The Priest is also a better out-of-hand kicker than Morgan and I think it would wise to keep trying to pin Fiji back into their 22 - better to have them running in their 22 than ours, then keep it tight amongst the forwards and live off the errors. I'm sure this is what Wales had in mind the last time we played Fiji, but it didn't come off and it was a dire game. Hoping for a much more clinical performance this time.

RubyGuby wrote:I think we need to trust Gatland - Priestland did do well when he came on and Ive become one of his biggest critics. Tyler will tackle better than Hook in midfield as he's a big lad. Morgan at FB just excites me.

Ruby old mate, at least (even if you have become one of his biggest critics) you have the gonads to take a deep breath and say (deep breath now!)
"Yes Priestland had a really good game when he came on" and you are all the better a welsh supporter/606 poster for it..... but there are other so called Welsh fans who will selectively memorise anything crappy about RP and conveniently forget anything that he does good (or even worse do the same with other players in this case Hooky!), cherry picking lot     and thats the rub

I like Matthew Morgans attacking style, and he without doubt is as brave as anyone, my worry is North and Cuthbert are not good defenders and Morgann for all his braveness at 5' 8" 11.5 st is just not a big player compared to Halfpenny 5' 10" 13.5 st Liam Williams 6' 2" and over 13.5 st or even Priestland 6' 2" and close on 15 stone.  Then what you have are a Welsh back three who are not a good defensive unit against big fijians attackers.

I would much rather Morgan come on when the forwards have worn out the opposition, play is broken up and gaps appearing

ok flyhalf i admit it too i thought priestland was good against england. provided hes not at fly half and isnt kicking goals or penalty touch kicks he might be ok as a full back

Griff wrote:

emack2 wrote:Love it one win and your in the Semi-Finals,get real if England win and you lose to
Australia your out.Unless you get a win plus 2 bonus points from your last two games
neither of which are a given.

What a strange post.  You've clearly taken no time to read this thread in any detail.  The vast majority of us have said we NEED to put out a full strength team against Fiji or we could lose and be out.  How is that akin to us being over confident and looking ahead to a semi final?!  We're looking no further than Fiji, as we know better than most how easy it is to come unstuck against them.

Poor show from you.

Very poor show.

Shifty wrote:ok flyhalf i admit it too i thought priestland was good against england. provided hes not at fly half and isnt kicking goals or penalty touch kicks he might be ok as a full back

Good grief well done that man, its all pretty transparent. What about the yer man Hooky? do you think it would be ok to play him at flyhalf if Dan get subbed against Fiji?.