Wales 74 – 24 Tonga
Warren Gatland made 14 changes to the team that beat Australia, and destroyed Tonga in a ten try demolition. Having secured the perfect start scoring three fast tries, Tonga fought back to take the score to 24-24 just after half time. Then came the onslaught of 50 unanswered points as the Wales 2nd stringers were ruthless in exploiting the tired Tongan defense. Wales will face South Africa in their last game, which if they win will be the first clean sweep in an Autumn series.
I can’t see Gatland making too many changes to the first XV. The players that beat Australia deserve another chance against South Africa. I can see Liam Williams possibly forcing himself onto the team as he is fantastic at putting himself into the action and looking for work. He scored his 10th try with a superb finish keeping his feet off the ground to touch the ball down, and was vital in Aled Davies scoring also. Williams got smashed in one tackle, giving an excellent offload, then getting back in play receiving a pass from Ellis Jenkins and delivering the final pass to Davies who raced away to score. That kind of effort, pace, and link play would surely have earned himself a spot on the bench. I’m a huge fan of George North, but Williams can create something out of nothing. If Leigh Halfpenny isn’t fit, then Williams would be an excellent threat from Full-Back to give Wales an extra attacking dimension.
Wales were smart in the way they dispatched Tonga. They knew full well that the big Tongan defenders were going to line them up for a huge hit, which they did. Wales however, changed the point of attack by giving late offloads, or inside passes to negate this tactic. It worked superbly. Dan Biggar proved his worth as the best tactical and strategic option at Fly-Half, guiding Wales around the field masterfully and putting in several kicks behind the aggressive, but narrow, defense.
I’m glad Tonga managed to even the score just after half-time. It gave a challenge to these young players and would have tested their character to come back out with a game to win. Through this they would have learned a lot more than winning 74-0. With the World Cup coming in 2019, Wales are building fantastic strength in depth in almost all positions. I can’t remember a time where a Wales “B Team” performed this well. On more than one occasion Gatland has conducted this experiment with disastrous results, epitomised by the 16-16 draw against Fiji in 2010.
South Africa will be the perfect test for this battle hardened Welsh side. They were unlucky to lose to England and secured narrow wins over Scotland and France. Having beaten New Zealand and Australia in September, they are finding their power after a period of transition and I imagine the game will be a close one. I must admit I haven’t watched much of South Africa so I’m not really sure how the two sides will match up. One thing I do know, is that a Welsh side high on confidence and scoring fantastic tries will be a threat to any side in the world. It’s going to be one hell of a test match.
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