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.

maestegmafia wrote:

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...!

Can't wait to see Talei play again, to be honest.

Strong side. Two enforced changes that I know of. What are the other four for? Has anybody said?

Happy with the team selection my only concern is Morgan at fb, I prefer him as an impact player when Fiji start to run out of steam. We could end up with  4 flyhalves on the field, Wales won a triple crown with 3 starting.

The good side of the subs we have plenty of options for the back line if injuries occur in the backs, gutted S Williams is out of the RWC.

flyhalffactory wrote:

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.

Didn't Priestland play at 10 when he came on against England? I remember him telling Bigger 15 when he came on and Priest was at 10 in most of the plays including for the Wales try. Certainly played his part in the victory, hopefully this will boost his confidence.

As for the side against Fiji, I am concerned about the defence in the backs. Nipper is pretty lightweight, Cuthbert and to a lesser extent North get caught out of position and Tyler really seemed to struggle with the defensive system in his warm up game against Ireland.

Up front I thought that Charteris and Owens had done enough against England to start, but I can understand Lee being brought back slowly.

I am willing to give Baldwin another go, neither him nor Baldwin have been faultless so still happy with that. Charteris made huge difference when he came on something I doubted he could offer from the bench but Davies had a good stint to.

yep rp was at 10. I ve been a critic and a choice word flew out when he came on., but he did ok. albeit only 15 mins but at a crucial time in the game . at scarlets he doesn't always take the kicks, and he plays better . could be with dan still on and doing all the kicking pressure was off. he still passed too early at least twice....avoiding getting mashed but backed that up with getting stuck in when going forward. need him to cover 10 in absolute emergency .....biggar off injured....but I saw something in rp's play which hasn't been there previously. maybe watching the heroics of the team pumped him , it looked like a player who says yeah I want to part of this, rather than oh god they've called me on !
I am a massive dan fan, liked him even when he was the arrogant kid , bored everyone going on about him. but he has now shown that magical quality which no-one has really talked about . inspirational, absolute belief .we always say the all blacks have it . to the end of the game. it's not arrogance. what England did showed arrogance. biggar has much more influence than ever before. a born leader that makes you believe .

gavstar wrote:
 what England did showed arrogance.  

Arrogance me arse, I'm afraid Gav.

What England showed was a desire to win. Good luck to them with that continued desire. We all share it. Wales too.

SecretFly wrote:

gavstar wrote:
 what England did showed arrogance.  

Arrogance me arse, I'm afraid Gav.

What England showed was a desire to win.  Good luck to them with that continued desire.  We all share it.  Wales too.

It certainly was a desire to win. I can admire teams who go for the win at all costs, but sadly for them it didn't pay off. It wasn't arrogance - people should stop believing the drivel published by kiwi journalists.

I know we MUST win, never mind the BP... but, and not sure I see it happening, but we really need a BP win, to go into the final weekend with a little bit of a buffer.

If we don't, I can see Eng narrowly beating Aus (No BP for Eng, but losing BP for Aus) on Sat. Then the final weekend, Eng will get a BP playing Uruguay, and I can See Aus pipping Wales again, but without a BP and Wales getting a losing BP.

That would end the table like this..

Pool A Pts
England 15
Australia 14
Wales 14

With Wales finishing 3rd by nature of Aus v Wal result...

So a BP win against Fiji, is really important I think, as that would change the table as so..

Pool A Pts
Wales 15
England 15
Australia 14

With Wales now topping the table due to the result between Eng v Wal.

So a win on Thursday against Fiji is a must, but a BP win is needed to make life a little more comfortable on the final weekend of the groups.

If nothing else, it just illustrates how close this group is and that no one can bank of a quarter final position yet.

mikey_dragon wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

gavstar wrote:
 what England did showed arrogance.  

Arrogance me arse, I'm afraid Gav.

What England showed was a desire to win.  Good luck to them with that continued desire.  We all share it.  Wales too.

It certainly was a desire to win. I can admire teams who go for the win at all costs, but sadly for them it didn't pay off. It wasn't arrogance - people should stop believing the drivel published by kiwi journalists.

I was watching some of the highlights clips on Monday night and Flatman (I think) said the decision wasn't wrong but the poor execution that then followed.

Yes, going towards the front wasn't the smartest decision.

Risca Rev wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

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...!

Can't wait to see Talei play again, to be honest.

Strong side. Two enforced changes that I know of. What are the other four for? Has anybody said?

Scrum half winger and prop were due to injury and Nadolo is on a one match ban. To be honest I don't think the changes weaken the side at all, if anything Nadolo has under performed, Nagusa is the better player. Obviously smaller but scores a lot of tries for Montpellier, on fire in this seasons top 14 with four tries in four consecutive games and has scored 14 for Fiji.... Matawalu Is in great form but so is Kenatale. They are kind of equal in ability though Matawalu is the more illusive, industrious of the two.

The winger Waisea Nayacalevu went off, knee injury, he is out of the tournament, replaced by Aseli Tikoirotuma
He was at Harlequins last year good player.

Agree about Nadolo. I was at the MS for the Australia-Fiji match and I kept waiting for Nadolo to do something. He frequently received the ball in space but just ran straight at the defense. Rarely came off his wing. He is such a big unit, he looks like he could do some real damage.

All that said, I think Wales should have little problem with Fiji. Especially with some of their starters out.

doctor_grey wrote:Agree about Nadolo.  I was at the MS for the Australia-Fiji match and I kept waiting for Nadolo to do something.  He frequently received the ball in space but just ran straight at the defense.  Rarely came off his wing.  He is such a big unit, he looks like he could do some real damage.  

All that said, I think Wales should have little problem with Fiji.  Especially with some of their starters out.  

He is still Fiji's first choice goal kicker. 3 from 3 against Australia.

chris_501 wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:Agree about Nadolo.  I was at the MS for the Australia-Fiji match and I kept waiting for Nadolo to do something.  He frequently received the ball in space but just ran straight at the defense.  Rarely came off his wing.  He is such a big unit, he looks like he could do some real damage.  

All that said, I think Wales should have little problem with Fiji.  Especially with some of their starters out.  

He is still Fiji's first choice goal kicker. 3 from 3 against Australia.

Anyone know who is their second choice goal kicker? Are they any good?

Fiji have a sting set piece, Wales was awful last Saturday, we don't want to be constantly conceding penalties at the scrum that they are knocking over with ease.

Gatland has warned the lads to stay focused or face getting dropped

“They’ve had a bit of a rocket this morning,” Gatland said. “I said to them we would look at the GPS numbers and the intensity of training. I said: ‘If I see any body language that is not right then I will change you tomorrow".

Feisty language from the coach... Good to see as we don't have time to relax until this cup is over, the hard work has only just begun...

“It’s not physical but mental, you’ve got to make sure that you are right after such a high. Sometimes the challenge is not the physical one but the mental one. Our job as coaches is to make them mentally right."

“We haven’t talked too much of England and had much time for a review or to tidy things from the game. The whole focus is on preparing for Fiji – we know how important it is. We have to put Saturday behind us. It’s incredibly important to get a result on Thursday and if do that we’re in the box seat a bit more.”


Dan Lydiate in interview said..!


"He said he would be looking at the GPS numbers to see how hard we were running and watching the boys’ body language. He said that if anyone walks round the pitch thinking they can take it easy, they will suffer the consequences.

No Matawalu or Nadolo is pretty devastating as they are probably the fulcrum of their backline play. I expect Wales to win through Biggar kicking them to death throughout the game. Fiji conceded quite a lot of penalties against the Wallabies.

Think Volavola, the fly half will be doing the goal kicking.

He started as kicker against England and missed a couple, then Nadolo took over

opinions opinions we all have them . right in our eyes wrong in others and vice versa. every man on a mountain can have a different view. Every journalist can find a different angle. great. learning from your mistakes is what matters.

George Carlin wrote:No Matawalu or Nadolo is pretty devastating as they are probably the fulcrum of their backline play. I expect Wales to win through Biggar kicking them to death throughout the game. Fiji conceded quite a lot of penalties against the Wallabies.

Kenatale is a lot less of an instinctive player than Matawalu, more consistent. All of us Pro12 team fans know what Matawalu can do when it goes right for him. But we also see him get isolated and turned over when things aren't what he thought. Kenatale Is a smart scrum half.

Nadolo for Nagusa is probably an improvement for Fiji... He is an incredibly prolific try scorer currently in top form in France.

I don't know much about their change of props, whether that might weaken their scrum but this team is as good if not possibly better than the last two sides they fielded in the RWC. That and the fact that McKee is a very smart coach.

Wales aren't ranked number two in the world for nothing, but Fiji won't make life easy for us one bit.

Agreed Maes - the issue is that Fiji will probably never compete with a Tier 1 nation's set piece in my lifetime, so they rely on 'high risk, high reward' stuff of which Niko is the master. Take that away and Wales can just slowly throttle the game closed by applying pressure and being clinical.

Theres an interesting peice in the daily telegraph running through the various permintations for qualification from this group. it highlights how important a winning bonus poitn is for Wales in this game. If Wales DONT get the winning bonus point against Fiji things start getting interesting. It means that if England beat the Aussies but the Aussies finish within 7 Wales HAVE to beat Austrlaia or they are out. However if Wales pick up the bonus point and England beat Austrlaia Wales can afford to losse to Australia as long as they finish with 7 and still go through. obviously England may lose meaning Wales are all but through BUT Im sure Gats will know the importance of 4 tries tomorow evening.

We cant get fixated on the bonus point to early, we have to win the game first and foremost then it its there and have a nice healthy lead (not sure we will) push for the BP.

Saturdays result will mean diddly squat if we don't get out of this group.

George Carlin wrote:Agreed Maes - the issue is that Fiji will probably never compete with a Tier 1 nation's set piece in my lifetime, so they rely on 'high risk, high reward' stuff of which Niko is the master. Take that away and Wales can just slowly throttle the game closed by applying pressure and being clinical.

There sat piece was fine against England and Australia mate..! Stronger sometimes.

Its an area where they have certainly improved.

maestegmafia wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Agreed Maes - the issue is that Fiji will probably never compete with a Tier 1 nation's set piece in my lifetime, so they rely on 'high risk, high reward' stuff of which Niko is the master. Take that away and Wales can just slowly throttle the game closed by applying pressure and being clinical.

There sat piece was fine against England and Australia mate..! Stronger sometimes.

Definitely better than it has been in any previous RWC but over the course of 80 minutes, they do still concede a fair number of penalties.

George Carlin wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Agreed Maes - the issue is that Fiji will probably never compete with a Tier 1 nation's set piece in my lifetime, so they rely on 'high risk, high reward' stuff of which Niko is the master. Take that away and Wales can just slowly throttle the game closed by applying pressure and being clinical.

There sat piece was fine against England and Australia mate..! Stronger sometimes.

Definitely better than it has been in any previous RWC but over the course of 80 minutes, they do still concede a fair number of penalties.

Aye they do but more in the breakdown than the set piece. Somewhere where Wales did well against England on the penalty count.

What I have noticed about Fiji in this world cup is, that by the hour mark, when in defence they all stand with their hands on the tops of their thighs leaning forward panting heavily.

Wales on the other hand seem to finish even fresher than when they started, we must capitalise on this, we cannot give Fiji early momentum, we cannot chase the game, rolling mauls should be the tactic of the day, followed with Biggar kicking penalties until they have the morale sapped out of them, and then try and score some tries.

LordDowlais wrote:What I have noticed about Fiji in this world cup is, that by the hour mark, when in defence  they all stand with their hands on the tops of their thighs leaning forward panting heavily.

Wales on the other hand seem to finish even fresher than when they started, we must capitalise on this, we cannot give Fiji early momentum, we cannot chase the game, rolling mauls should be the tactic of the day, followed with Biggar kicking penalties until they have the morale sapped out of them, and then try and score some tries.

Four or more tries would be perfect.

maestegmafia wrote:Four or more tries would be perfect.

When do we ever score that many tries against Fiji ?

2011 WC but that was a depleted Fijian side.

Win the game first, then worry about the tries.
As for Fijis pants they wil be the better rested side for this game, having had a less intense encounter and a longer break.

The noises coming out of the Wales camp are along the lines of " we cant switch off and think the job is done". With all the injuries its a real banana skin fixture.

Yes the bonus point may have permutations later on but securing the win is absolutely the most importnat thing before worrying about some "if a + b happens" situations. Even a 10 point lead isnt safe these days apparently.

LordDowlais wrote:
Wales on the other hand seem to finish even fresher than when they started , we must capitalise on this

I don't know about capitalising on it, but bottling it and selling it to a few Toulon based pharmacies might bring in a tidy profit

If I was a Wales supporter I would be worried about this game. Fiji have enjoyed a longer break between games and therefore will be fresher and better prepared. Whatever Wales say some of their players will feel the effects of playing twice in just a few days and they could be struggling to hang on at the end. I believe Fiji have always targetted this match and fancy their chances of an upset. Against Australia they finished strongly so their fitness levels cannot be too bad. They have showed in patches against both England and Australia that they are a decent side....not enough attacking invention, but certainly very strong and backed up by a decent scrum. I think Wales will win a close one, but they will do well to get the BP. But Gatland and his coaching team are very shrewd and I am sure Wales will have good tactics for this game. Wales certainly need a fast start as the longer Fiji remain in contention the messier it will all become. A couple of rolling maul tries will be in order as both Aus and Eng scored this way.

LordDowlais wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Four or more tries would be perfect.

When do we ever score that many tries against Fiji ?

2011 WC but that was a depleted Fijian side.

Well we need to..! There is no ducking the challenge.

The most likely result seems to be a comfortable but not high scoring Welsh victory, with most points coming from Biggar's boot.

A lot will depend on how exposed that back line will be to rampaging Fijians, which could make things interesting, especially for us English

I can't see Wales be that pushed to make the bonus point win to be honest. I think they have some breathing space now and some pressure off.

hugehandoff wrote:If I was a Wales supporter I would be worried about this game. Fiji have enjoyed a longer break between games and therefore will be fresher and better prepared. Whatever Wales say some of their players will feel the effects of playing twice in just a few days and they could be struggling to hang on at the end. I believe Fiji have always targetted this match and fancy their chances of an upset. Against Australia they finished strongly so their fitness levels cannot be too bad. They have showed in patches against both England and Australia that they are a decent side....not enough attacking invention, but certainly very strong and backed up by a decent scrum. I think Wales will win a close one, but they will do well to get the BP. But Gatland and his coaching team are very shrewd and I am sure Wales will have good tactics for this game. Wales certainly need a fast start as the longer Fiji remain in contention the messier it will all become. A couple of rolling maul tries will be in order as both Aus and Eng scored this way.  

We are all worried about it mate, all of us - so far the score lines have flattered Eng and Aus and we are under no illusions here, especially given our stretched resources

No 7&1/2 wrote:I can't see Wales be that pushed to make the bonus point win to be honest. I think they have some breathing space now and some pressure off.

I think we need it just to make it even more breathable, could get very twitchy if England win

Personally, I am far more nervous about this game than the England game!

As someone who is praying you fall flat on your faces I can't see it and I'm not just doing the 'praise you' guff so it makes it look better for us if you do falter.

GavinDragon wrote:Personally, I am far more nervous about this game than the England game!

I'm not nervous at all about this game, I expect Wales to beat Fiji. Fiji haven't actually beaten anyone good since er... the 2007 World Cup!
If we can beat Ireland in Ireland and England in England we can beat Fiji in Cardiff.

I like the pack, they'll go well, big and confrontational and 3/5 of the back 5 have good hands/intelligence).

Couple of things I'm most nervous about are:

-Scrums
We got beaten repeaqtedly against England, Marler boring in or not, we simply need to gain parity here. Parity will suffice.

-The Morgans
Matthew is tiny and I honestly fear for him the first tackle he has to make 1 on 1 if we use him defnesively as we use Halfpenny
Tyler is young, and seemed all at sea in his last game against Ireland, Fiji are a different challenge but he didnt look aready at all (although I appreciate Gatland is using the next in line in the injured positions and commend him for that).

Also, any ideas why Anscombe's not on the bench for Hook? I feel Anscombe has something that could shine at test level, we've seen the best of what Hook has to offer and its been a long time since he delivered any of it...

Bit gutted Nadolo's out, hes been rubbish tbh and hasnt compliemnted the rest of Fijis backline. Volavola has looked dangerous ball in hand and with a more rounded scrumhalf and icisive threats on the wings could be more dangerous than we've seen so far.....

Jury's out but I'm pretty sure there'll be a Wales win, getting 4 tries will be the question mark....

Wales by 40pts

LordDowlais wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Four or more tries would be perfect.

When do we ever score that many tries against Fiji ?

2011 WC but that was a depleted Fijian side.

In 2007 Wales scored 5 tries in the defeat by Fiji which put us out of the World Cup. Fiji only scored 4 tries. The 2 point difference in the final score was because of the kicks - Wales and Fiji kicked 3 conversions each, but Fiji kicked 4 penalties and Wales only kicked 1.

I just found out something that makes me feel a bit better. If two teams are tied in the pool on pool points, I had assumed points difference would be used to decide which qualified... But it seems head-to-head result is used before points difference... So if Wales/England were to end up on the same pool points... We would go through on the head-to-head, no matter how much they beat Uruguay by. Obviously, this rule could equally bite us with Oz, but it was news to me!

Comfort wrote:I like the pack, they'll go well, big and confrontational and 3/5 of the back 5 have good hands/intelligence).

Couple of things I'm most nervous about are:

-Scrums
We got beaten repeaqtedly against England, Marler boring in or not, we simply need to gain parity here. Parity will suffice.

-The Morgans
Matthew is tiny and I honestly fear for him the first tackle he has to make 1 on 1 if we use him defnesively as we use Halfpenny
Tyler is young, and seemed all at sea in his last game against Ireland, Fiji are a different challenge but he didnt look aready at all (although I appreciate Gatland is using the next in line in the injured positions and commend him for that).

Also, any ideas why Anscombe's not on the bench for Hook?  I feel Anscombe has something that could shine at test level, we've seen the best of what Hook has to offer and its been a long time since he delivered any of it...

Bit gutted Nadolo's out, hes been rubbish tbh and hasnt compliemnted the rest of Fijis backline. Volavola has looked dangerous ball in hand and with a more rounded scrumhalf and icisive threats on the wings could be more dangerous than we've seen so far.....

Jury's out but I'm pretty sure there'll be a Wales win, getting 4 tries will be the question mark....

Anscombe is still not fit.

This alters the whole skew of things to me! If we could get a bonus point against Fiji we would be in a seriously good place - and just a losing BP against Oz would probably be enough to get us through. I hope the guys know how important the BP is!

I ......think.......... Gatland will remind them if they don't. And I don't think he's in a mood to be ignored.

Of course, fail to get a BP win and we basically have to at least a draw/2LBP against Oz (assuming they lose to England - which I sadly think they will). Aghhh!!!!!

And please do try and not disturb the Fijians sleep tonight. Those Cardiff lot can be quite noisy at times.

Come on Fiji!!!

I'm not too worried. As pointed out, if we can beat England and Ireland away from home, we can beat Fiji in Cardiff.

The only concern would be if I thought we were going to be complacent, but I can't see that happening under Gatland,

Gatland has never lost to tier 2 opposition while Wales coach, so I don't think he is going to let it happen now.

When Wales have struggled against Fiji recently, it has been with a scratch side not used to playing together, that won't be the case tomorrow.