Wales rout sorry Fiji
Wales made sure of their place in the last of the RWC with a dominant 66-0 victory over Fiji in Hamilton.
Last Updated: 02/10/11 9:12am
Wales made sure of their place in the last of the RWC with a dominant 66-0 victory over Fiji in Hamilton.
Wales were already virtually through following Samoa's failure to pick up a bonus point against South Africa, however Warren Gatland's men made sure there was no doubt about their quarter-final place.
They crossed for four tries in the first half for the bonus point they needed to secure qualification, with Wales ripping apart Fiji with some quality rugby.
Skipper Sam Warburton led the way, while George North was phenomenal during a breathless Welsh display.
Jamie Roberts (2), Scott Williams, North, Warburton, Lloyd Burns, Leigh Halfpenny, Lloyd Williams and Jonathan Davies all crossed for tries, with Rhys Priestland adding 13 points and Stephen Jones on target with four conversions.
Terrible defending allowed Wales to open scoring, with Roberts running through virtually unopposed after Warburton had turned over Fiji's lineout. Priestland converted.
Scott Williams continued his try-scoring form as he left Michael Tagicakibau for dead with a superb side-step after being released by North.
Priestland tagged on the extras and made it 17-0 with a penalty- and North put the result out of sight with a superb finish on 33 minutes. Good passing between Roberts, Huw Bennett and Toby Faletau created the space for North who showed his electric pace to score. Priestland added the extras.
Memorable
North turned provider for the bonus point try just before half-time, with the winger bursting through before finding Warburton with the scoring pass. Priestland made it five from five from the tee.
Fiji showed more purpose and energy after the interval, but despite several promising phases they couldn't find any way through.
And Roberts went in for his second try, with North once again doing the damage. The winger charged through, exchanged passes with Priestland before gifting the ball to Roberts. Priestland slotted over the conversion.
There was a memorable moment for replacement hooker Burns as he burrowed over for his first try for Wales. Stephen Jones made no mistake with the conversion.
Fiji's night was pretty much summed up when Albert Vulivuli failed to gather Gethin Jenkins' big punt up field and Halfpenny scooped up the loose ball up for a simple try. Jones tagged on the extras.
With the Fijians completely dejected, Wales took full advantage as Lloyd Williams scooted over from a 5m scrum and Jones converted.
And Davies ensured Wales finished on a high as he evaded the Fiji defence to score. Jones added the extras.