Dan Biggar urges Wales to ‘change rest of our lives’ against South Africa
Wales have been urged to seize the moment and take advantage of the lifechanging opportunity available to them in Japan. No Welsh side have reached a World Cup final but the fly-half Dan Biggar believes the tournament remains wide open before Sunday’s semifinal against South Africa.
Biggar accepts Warren Gatland’s team were fortunate to squeeze past a 14-man France in the quarter-finals but insists Wales have the character and resolve to go all the way to the final in Yokohama on Saturday week.
“Hopefully we have two games to potentially change the rest of our lives,” Biggar said. “When you get to a semifinal you probably think that on your day any one of four teams can win it. The All Blacks were pretty exceptional against Ireland and they are going to be right up there with the favourites. But we are happy to keep under the radar, go about our work quietly and go from there. We are confident that, if we get things right technically, the resolve and the attitude we’ve got can match anyone. We are 80 minutes from getting into the World Cup final and we just feel in a really good spot.”
Biggar said Wales would happily scrape into the final with another ugly performance after riding their luck against France, who were handicapped by the dismissal of the lock Sébastien Vahaamahina in the 49th minute. “The red card’s a massive turning point, let’s not hide behind that,” said Biggar, whose conversion of Ross Moriarty’s late try clinched Wales’s third appearance in a World Cup semi-final.
“If we are calling a spade a spade we were pretty terrible in the first 40 minutes. The red card changed the game, there’s no doubt about that. But, ultimately, we’d take the same performance if we come on the right side of the scoreboard.
“There probably isn’t a formula. What you have got is a group of guys desperate to achieve and who are prepared to dig deep. Looking at the quality of the rugby in the other quarterfinals we were certainly below that but what we have as much as anybody is a desire and a fight not to give in. That’s something that can’t be trained.
“You get no points for style, no bonus points at this stage. It’s about scoring more points than the opposition and that’s something we did against France – just about.”
Wales will not be distracted by their collective desire to give Warren Gatland a fitting sendoff after his long, successful spell as coach. “After the achievements we have had under Gats losing to France would have been a very disappointing way for it to have ended,” Biggar said. “But we don’t want to get caught up in it being Gats’s last two weeks. He’d be big enough to say it’s more about making sure everything is right for us going on to the field.
“We probably got a bit lucky against France but if you want my honest opinion I couldn’t care less. We are in a World Cup semi-final and have played some good rugby in the tournament. Sunday was not one of those days but a lot of teams wouldn’t have the character and desire we have to find a way.”
Biggar revealed that his wife, Alex, booked flights to come out to Japan at half-time during the France game when Wales were trailing 19-10. “I think she actually booked them at half-time with a cancellation policy – and it wasn’t looking great at half time!” Biggar said. “It’s cost a few quid but it’ll be great to have my wife and our little boy here. Ultimately, that’s the most important thing. The sacrifices they are making … that’s why a lot of us are doing this.”