EVEN THE PRIESTS ARE GOING NUTS IN WALES

AFTER a karaoke session on the coach back from Twickenham, a bleary-eyed Shaun Edwards was welcomed with open arms by the Welsh priest at Sunday morning mass. The management staff all stretched their vocal cords on the return journey down the M4 — making a getaway faster than a stolen English chariot — before the creaky but conquering players were put through a 3am cryotherapy session back at their training base in the Vale of Glamorgan. Despite the late night, defence coach Edwards made his crackof-dawn church service, as the Welsh prayed for some positive injury news before Thursday’s Pool A meeting with Fiji. ‘I went to mass and even the priest came out and put his hands up in the air to celebrate,’ said Edwards. ‘That’s when you know you’re making a difference to the nation.’ With the church just around the corner from the Welsh camp, Edwards was able to begin his debrief yesterday. Having beaten Uruguay and England, they must now work out how to overcome a debilitating injury list, with Liam Williams, Scott Williams and Hallam Amos joining the casualties. Despite being down to their bare bones, Wales fought back for a famous victory against the tournament hosts. The late onslaught was testament to their fitness camps in Switzerland and Qatar. ‘The M4 is never a nice place but, when you win like that by beating the hosts in their back yard, coming home is something special,’ said winger George North (right), who, after Sam Burgess’s ‘who’s Scott Williams?’ jibe, yesterday tweeted a photo of Williams and singer Tom Jones with the caption, ‘At least Tom Jones knows Scott Williams’. The extent of Williams’ injury has not yet been confirmed but if he is sidelined long term, it might mean Warren Gatland switching North to outside centre. ‘If need be, I will play centre or wing, not front row!’ said North. ‘That is the World Cup — you have to adapt and learn roles.’ They tried to put the win in some perspective. ‘Warren said it’s up there with some of the best games of his life and that includes the third Test with the Lions,’ said Edwards, referring to the series-clinching demolition of Australia in Sydney two years ago. ‘It was the adversity the team came through. Going into the game, we had some world-class players missing. We then lost players and were behind twice by 10 points against a team who had not lost at home for, I think, three years. ‘I realised how big the World Cup was when Japan won. That energised the whole competition as there is nothing like an upset and this was another one. ‘It’s nice for underdogs to win.’