By Nathan Parker
WALES confirmed their place in the quarter finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with a hard fought 29-17 victory over Fiji – thanks to a hat-trick of tries from wing Josh Adams.
The warning signs for Wales were clear to see early on as the offload-master Leone Nakarawa managed to get the ball away to captain Waqaniburotu, who lead the charge for the Fijians.
The tone was set from the south sea islanders who grabbed the first try of the match through the 17-and-a-half stone winger Josua Tuisova, who brushed passed Adams as if he wasn’t there to score the first try of the contest.
Things got even worse for Warren Gatland’s side when hooker Ken Owens was sent to the sin-bin for a tip-tackle on Villame Mata moments after Josh Navidi’s try was disallowed.
There was nothing wrong with Fiji’s second score though, as they took advantage of Wales’ misfortunes with a try from full-back Kini Murimurivalu after only a few phases of play in the Welsh 22.
With Ben Volavola missing both conversions, Wales were still in the game and were handed a boost as Jerome Garces made things even by giving ex-Ospreys lock Tevita Cavubati 10 minutes in the bin for a shoulder charge on Alun Wyn Jones.
The tide began to turn and it showed on the scoreboard as Blues speedster Adams put his defensive woes behind him to gather Dan Biggar’s cross-kick to get Wales back into the game.
The ill-discipline of the Fijians soon began to cost them as repeated infringements on their own try-line gave Garces no choice but to dish out a third yellow card of the first half, this time for Semi Kunatani.
Once again it was Adams who punished the tiring islanders after a lovely passing move between the backline. With Dan Biggar’s two touchline conversions, Wales took a 14-10 lead into half-time.
In this see-saw battle it was Fiji who found their second wind as a James Davies yellow card was compounded by a penalty try after Wales had brought a driving maul down deliberately.
Wales lost another player soon after, this time to injury as miscommunication between Biggar and Liam Williams saw the Northampton number 10 heading towards the touchline for after a clash of heads.
His replacement Rhys Patchell managed to get Wales back on level terms within minutes of coming on with a 45-metre penalty goal.
Soon after Wales again found themselves in front as Jonathan Davies’ trademark hand-off paved the way for Adams to claim his first hat-trick for Wales with 20 minutes remaining. In the build up to the try both Davies and Adams took knocks with the Scarlets centre coming off the worse.
With Fiji throwing everything at Wales something had to give. With gaps appearing all over the field, Gareth Davies picked a hole in the Fijian defence before off-loading to Liam Williams who sprinted under the posts to secure a bonus point victory at the Oita Bank Dome.
Gatland’s undefeated side take on Uruguay in their final match of the group stage on Sunday with the game kicking off at 09:15 BST.