Wales v Fiji UK media reaction as team branded ‘rudderless, lifeless and frankly awful’ despite win – Wales Online
Wales may have eventually racked up a 15-point winning margin against Fiji to make the match look relatively comfortable.
But that was not the case at all, as the Fijians threatened to shock Wales well into the second-half.
Unsurprisingly, much of the UK national media were less than impressed on a weekend when England beat Australia and Ireland toppled the All Blacks.
Here's a selection of what they had to say...
"For a moment, Fiji had us wondering. Eroni Sau's red card after 25 minutes wasn't the killer blow to this Test that many expected. Instead the visitors pushed Wales to the limit, just as they did at the Rugby World Cup two years ago in Oita.
"In the end, late tries from Alex Cuthbert, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams bailed Wales out after a fairly indifferent performance. Considering the adversity facing Fiji heading into this, shorn of some of the best players including Semi Radradra and Levani Botia not to mention their head coach in Vern Cotter, this was a remarkable effort down to 14 men for so long.
Read more: Wales player ratings as Dan Biggar has game to forget and back-row lose breakdown battle
Read more: Wales saved by Fijian stupidity and late flourish but significant red flags have emerged
"Sau had to go, red carded after making direct contact with the head of Johnny Williams with a swinging arm following a tackle. The surprise was how long it took for that outcome to be reached, TMO Stuart Terheege insisting that referee Nic Berry reconsider his initial assessment of a yellow card.
"What did Wales get out of this? Hard to say, really. There were some lowlights, including Kieran Hardy fizzing a pass presumably meant for Rees-Zammit into the front rows of the West Stand. Their attack overall this autumn remains a bit lifeless, admittedly hindered last week against South Africa by the miserable weather, but there were no excuses here on a sunkissed afternoon."
"It was just as well for Wales this was not Fiji's strongest side no Semi Radradra, Levani Botia, Peceli Yato or Leone Nakarawa.
"In an autumn when Wales have learned little, they struggled again for fluidity. A calf problem saw Josh Adams withdraw in the warm-up, so the experiment of playing him at centre was scrapped and Nick Tompkins came in.
"The whole Welsh set-up looked messy, especially at the breakdown. Fiji took advantage, scoring a classic try with Volavola feeding the steaming Bill Mata who sped between Dan Biggar and Adam Beard then popped an offload to Nayacalevu to score within seven minutes. Volavola converted and Fiji were away.
"Spluttering Wales relied on mauls to bail them out. Elias scored from one, which Biggar converted, before Volavola kicked a penalty.
"For 60 minutes a first Welsh defeat to Fiji since 2007 looked on the cards as Wayne Pivacs side huffed and puffed against 14 men. Wales, frankly, were awful for large parts.
"That they came out on top to record a first win in the autumn was down to a late salvo which saw them score three tries in the final quarter through Alex Cuthbert, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams. Rees-Zammits try clinched the game as he showed his trademark pace. It was a stunning effort.
"Fijis Eroni Sau was red carded in the 25th minute for a dangerous tackle to the head of the Wales centre Johnny Williams, but the home side struggled badly even with a man advantage.
"Fiji smashed Wales to bits at the contact area. Pivacs attack was rudderless and lacked direction. It was a relief then for a strong Cardiff crowd when Rees-Zammit put the game to bed.
"Wales were all at sea. They had no direction, little ambition, and no platform to play off. Even a man light, Fiji showed them how it should be done."
RugbyPass' player ratings saw the Welsh half-backs come under the most fire, with the pair scoring the lowest out of the entire team.
"10 DAN BIGGAR 5
"An infuriatingly mixed performance from Biggar. Caught napping for Fijis opening try. Kicked beautifully out of hand one minute, before missing his mark the next. His incessant chat with referee Nic Berry, if anything, seemed to harm as opposed to help Wales cause.
"9 KIERAN HARDY 5.5
"Some of his box kicks werent as accurate as he might have liked and at times in the first half where it felt like Wales werent in full control at the base. Showed both his athletic and decision-making abilities to dart in under the posts to punish a 13-man Fiji. His snipping game was on point."
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Wales v Fiji UK media reaction as team branded 'rudderless, lifeless and frankly awful' despite win - Wales Online
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