STRONG BENCH PROVES WALES CAN MAKE MARK ON WORLD STAGE
THE ability to fight bench warfare has long been considered a must for getting the job done in professional rugby.
Rewind to the first season of the regional game and the Scarlets hosting the Ospreys at Stradey Park.
The visitors were unexpectedly making a fight of it when Gareth Jenkins took the match away from them by sending on two waves of replacements.
The first saw Scott Quinnell and Robin McBryde take the field, changes that prompted Ospreys coaches Lyn Jones and Sean Holley to look at each other in concern at the impact the international duo might make.
Then, as Jones and Holley’s team struggled to cope up front, Jenkins ushered on Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones, with Mark Taylor also joining the fray.
A game that had been on a knife edge ended with the Scarlets powering to a 28-15 bonus-point victory.
On Saturday, Wales demonstrated the growing depth of their squad.
Justin Tipuric fully deserved to be named man of the match and there were strong performances from Alun Wyn Jones, Jonathan Davies and Nicky Smith, along with Warren Gatland’s player of the day, Josh Adams.
But, ultimately, the difference between the sides was the bench that Gatland was able to call on.
Those who came on all made big contributions, encapsulated by Dan Biggar kicking the match-winning penalty, secured by Dillon Lewis pinning Ned Hanigan at a ruck and effectively preventing him from rolling away.
Coaches the world over talk about impact substitutes, usually in the context of a single player, perhaps the most renowned of which was Sebastien Chabal, a man who used to arrive on the field looking as if he had bitten through chains to get there.
But so often in the past Wales have struggled to achieve the desired effect.
Indeed, once or twice, they have sent on what could even be described as non-impact substitutes.
But this time it was different. This time, Biggar, Lewis, Tomos Williams, Ellis Jenkins, Rob Evans, Liam Williams and Cory Hill were all strong performers, helping the hosts to finally end a decade-long search for a win over Australia.
Just 10 months out from a World Cup, it was good news for Gatland as he seeks to build depth.
This is how the replacements made their contributions...
DILLON LEWIS
Pitched into the fray on 47 minutes after Tomas Francis had done his job of nullifying Scott Sio.
Lewis helped win the game’s decisive penalty by pinning Ned Hanigan at a ruck, making it hard for the Wallaby to roll away.
He was also on the scene with Justin Tipuric and Nicky Smith when Adam Coleman was turned over.
He put in a number of powerful hits, including ones on Dane HaylettPetty and Tatafu Polota-Nau, and while the Welsh scrum creaked a bit at times in the final half-hour, their No. 18 carried with purpose and finished significantly in credit.
LIAM WILLIAMS
The Lions Test starter took the field at the same time as Lewis and set about making an immediate impression, covering well and shortly after counter-rucking to achieve a turnover.
Williams lifted the crowd on 68 minutes by driving back Samu Kerevi, Australia’s battering-ram centre, and showed his hunger by claiming a loose ball on the floor ahead of Michael Hooper, who may or may not have come out second best under such circumstances at any previous point in his career — no one could be quite sure.
Every time Williams tackled it was as if Australians had offended him in another life.
ROB EVANS
He had a tough act to follow after Nicky Smith produced arguably his best performance for Wales, which saw him stay rock solid in the scrums and show up outstandingly around the field.
But Evans, who is still topping up his match fitness after injury, set about his task with purpose.
He drove strongly into opposition defenders and exhibited an appetite for battle by charging down a kick from Kurtley Beale, who managed to reclaim possession only to end up being by nailed another sub, Ellis Jenkins.
At times in the last 20 minutes, the Wallabies must have thought Wales had 20 players on the field.
TOMOS WILLIAMS
Introduced at the same time as Evans, on 55 minutes, Williams produced a display that will have done him no harm in the fight to be Wales’s number one scrum-half.
Barry John revealed in his newspaper column how he had bumped into Mike Phillips the other day and told him: “Tomos reminds me of you. He’s got your traits: he’s aggressive and he has the arrogance that winners possess when they’re on the pitch. He wants to be involved the whole time.”
Williams demonstrated how on the money John was.
His effort wasn’t flawless.
He was harassed by Will Genia at one scrum and knocked on shortly after.
But he put in hits on Samu Kerevi and Sekope Kepu which highlighted his bravery and he also charged through heavy traffic at one point, showing nimble feet. There was also a clearance off the park that showed growing maturity, allowing Wales to regroup and attack Australia’s dodgy line-out.
Upwardly mobile?
That’s Williams.
ELLIS JENKINS
The Cardiff Blue took over from Dan Lydiate on the hour and was excellent in the final quarter, making 21 metres from three carries and putting in five tackles.
Kurtley Beale, Dane Haylett-Petty and Sekope Kepu were among those Jenkins halted in their tracks and at least one of his runs put the Wallaby defence seriously on the back foot.
There was also a memorable moment when he and Justin Tipuric wrapped up an opposition ball carrier for Jenkins to dislodge possession.
The poor chap would have stood more chance of emerging with a smile on his face if he had walked up a dark alley and been confronted a gang of heavies at the stroke of midnight.
CORY HILL
He had been left out of the starting line-up presumably because Warren Gatland needed to counter the two 6ft 8in Wallaby locks and the equally tall Adam Beard fitted that particular bill.
But Hill wasted no time registering on the radar after taking the pitch on 60 minutes, claiming a line-out and a restart. He also surged down the left wing to such effect that it appeared Wales had introduced a stag to proceedings. Four minutes from time there was a carry that featured a step, and in all Hill made 20 metres from five runs.
Against a tiring side, that kind of contribution counted for a lot.
DAN BIGGAR
Last but not least, the player who applied the knockout punch.
Biggar had just six minutes on the field after coming on for the dazed Leigh Halfpenny, and there was no opportunity for him to offer anything in attack.
He also managed just one tackle. But when Wales won a penalty with barely two minutes to play, there was only one man who was going to take it.
It was from around 35 metres out and on the wrong side for a right footer, but Biggar made it look easy as he bisected the posts without a flicker of self doubt.
There was no way back for Australia. Wales’s starters had taken the sting out of them. But the finishers killed them off. Strength in depth matters, and in Cardiff against the Wallabies, Wales demonstrated they are making significant progress on that score.