Lightning Louis, Ellis leads from the front but kit’s a real shocker

WALES are probably still breathing a few sighs of relief after a deeply unconvincing win against Fiji.

Only a flurry of late tries earned them the victory with a red card and two yellows fatally undermining a Fijian effort which had looked so dangerous. Here we take a look at the winners and losers from Sunday afternoon’s encounter...

Winners

Louis Rees-Zammit

It was not a day for individuals in the Wales camp to be patting themselves on the back.

However, Rees-Zammit, the Gloucester express, could be forgiven for having some sort of glow afterwards.

His 74th-minute try showcased his terrifying speed and was a fantastic example of opportunism and desire to chase apparent lost causes. Not only that, but ReesZammit was Wales’ most dangerous-looking player all afternoon.

The only downside is probably his team’s inability to release him in a way which allows him to maximise his threat.

Too often he received the ball wide out when Fiji had closed down space because of Wales’ ponderousness.

Ellis Jenkins

The indefatigable Cardiff flanker will mark down this day as something to remember, even though the performance of his team was anything but.

Jenkins captained his country and was entitled to reflect positively on that achievement after three years of welldocumented injury hell.

Last week against South Africa, he was simply outstanding. This week less so because he was part of a collective display which just didn’t function in the way it was hoped.

Gareth Baber

Whether the former Cardiff Blues coach ever thought he would be head coach of an international side against Wales at the Principality Stadium is anyone’s guess.

But he must have been bursting with pride at what he oversaw as Fiji boss here - and bristling with frustration too.

Baber is not short of raw material. So many of his players ply their trade at the top level in France and indeed other nations.

The idea that Fiji are incohesive mugs who just want to chuck the ball around is clearly nonsense.

What should have pleased Baber on the one hand was the undoubted evidence that his side may well have won had they retained a full complement of players for 80 minutes.

What will have annoyed him was that lack of composure and discipline. Unquestionably the red carding of Sau cost Fiji the game. Overall, though, Baber looks as though he has helped put Fiji on the right track for the 2023 World Cup.

Alex Cuthbert

Cuthbert likes one particular corner of the Principality Stadium field - the corner where south meets east.

After four years in the wilderness during which he has been derided on social media and sought the relative off-field peace and quiet of the English game, Cuthbert was back scoring against Fiji in the same corner as his two famous tries against England in the 30-3 rout of 2013.

The location of his 67th-minute try was probably lost on him at the time. He took it well, finishing with bravery and dexterity, and it was a reminder of better days on the Test circuit. It is sometimes easy to forget Cuthbert is a try-scoring Test British and Irish Lion. He couldn’t really lose on Sunday because he probably thought his days of pulling on the Wales jersey were over. Cuthbert deserved his return - and he showed enough to demonstrate he is a viable Six Nations option should Wayne Pivac need him. Losers

The Welsh management

The results ledger will show a win, but Wayne Pivac and those in charge of the component departments of his coaching strategy must grapple with an uncomfortable truth ahead of the final series game against Australia: they’ve simply got to do better.

So far in three matches against New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji, legitimate concerns have emerged at various intervals about the set-piece, the breakdown and predictability in attack.

These are serious flaws coming on the back of a very underwhelming and losing home series against Argentina in the summer. Since the Six Nations title win, Wales have regularly been without key players, but if building depth is a prerequisite of World Cup preparation then supporters have been entitled to expect more.

The 2022 Six Nations looms, with every other side bar Italy looking in very good nick.

Wales desperately need the oxygen of a win against Australia to take into that tournament. Macron

Not the French president, but the Wales kit suppliers.

When they convened a meeting to discuss the design of one of the Wales change strips, who thought it a good idea to mix black and dark green?

Wales took the field in, wait for it, black shirts, dark green shorts and white socks. In the process they didn’t so much turn heads as stomachs.