How they rated
LIAM WILLIAMS 8 WYN JONES 6
A Welshman who could slot into Fiji’s marvellous back division without too many problems. Williams finds angles that would be breaking news to Pythagoras and he glides past opponents as if they’re not there. Wales’ best player on the day, he scored a try, and made 146 metres from 15 runs.
He had arguably the most dangerous opponent in world rugby to mark in Semi Radradra and, to his credit, there were few dramas down North’s wing in the opening half. It was a different tale after the break as the brilliant Fijian tore into the game. North struggled to put an impression on the match. Watching Radradra would have been instructive.
Put Josh Adams in for a try with a nicely delivered pass and sent the same player over with a purposeful break and clever offload. That kind of intervention underlines why Davies is considered world-class. It was the key moment in the match. His injury will be a concern.
Never looked comfortable against Fiji’s power runners and ferocious tacklers. A crushing hit from Viliame Mata might have left Parkes in need of a spot of postmatch attention from a local panelbeater. A few minutes later, Levani Botia also took aim at the Scarlet.
A shocker in defence, a matchwinner in attack. What a game it was for hat-trick man Adams. A calamitious start saw him run over by The Bus, Josua Tuisova, as Fiji began with a try, then Adams failed to stop Kini Murimurivalu as the full-back crossed. It went from bad to worse as the wing dropped a pass he should have taken. To his credit, he didn’t hide and his third try was an outstanding finish.
Dragged Wales back into the game with a wonderfully executed crosskick to set up a try for Josh Adams – the fly-half’s third try assist in this tournament – while he slotted a couple of wide-angled conversions. His game did fray a bit before he took a bump to the head that saw him leave the field early for the second successive game.
No Hollywood stuff this time, but he did put in an important tackle on Viliiame Mata as the big No.8 powered towards the line in the second half. Davies also kept his composure when sending across Liam Williams in the final quarter. One superb scrum had Fiji under pressure, but the tables were turned later in the game as he the islanders’ got their set-piece act together. Jones was also throttled by Tevita Cavubati at one point.
Became the first Wales player to pick up a yellow card in this tournament with a dangerous tackle. Owens tried hard in typical fashion and did contribute muchneeded physicality against dangerous opponents.
Gave Campese Ma’afu a hard time at the scrums, but Fiji did hit back with fresh faces after the break. Francis kept going admirably in the loose, highlighted by his hauling down Tevita Cavubati as the Fijian ran like a stag down the left wing.
Helped defuse a worrying situation with a crunching tackle in the shadow of his own posts. There was also another important defensive intervention shortly after. Ball didn’t miss a tackle and not many Wales players could say that at full-time.
Thumped back on the gain-line at one point but the skipper has been a human barricade at this World Cup and he helped pull Wales’ defensive effort together. Twelve tackles hoisted his tally for the tournament to 43.
Hadn’t missed a tackle in 29 attempts before this game, but let a Fijian past within a minute here. But there was pep in some of Navidi’s carries and he did what he could to slow down Fiji’s ball at the breakdown, while he dispossessed Semi Kunatani with a terrific rip.
Tackled well in the first 40 and pulled off one of the hits of the day by speeding back to haul down Waisea Nayacalevu. A second-half yellow card was poor reward for an energetic and gutsy performance.
A startling, thunderous run upfield was a first-half highlight, though Moriarty did let the door open in defence a few times. But he relished the tough, close-quarter exchanges and another important carry helped pave the way for Liam Williams’ try.