Wales end dismal run with first win of 2024
Simon Thomas
It took until the 79th minute of the 201st day of the year, but finally Wales have a win in 2024.
Now, of course, it’s important to put this triumph into some kind of context.
This was no Test match and they were up against a second string Queensland who were without their Wallaby squad members.
Moreover, Warren Gatland’s team came perilously close to an ignominious defeat as they blew a 31-14 lead, before replacement scrum-half Kieran Hardy got them out of jail with a try some 60 seconds from time.
So, there will be no celebratory bank holiday and no open-top bus ride on their return from this tour of Australia.
But, nevertheless, it will come as a very welcome victory for a group who have been through a pretty torrid time so far this year.
Helter skelter
It was a real helter skelter affair at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and a contest which summed up Wales’ trip Down Under, with collective and individual plusses balanced out by some pretty glaring negatives.
For the first 50 minutes, they made pretty smooth progress, albeit viewers back home wouldn’t have been able to tell for the opening half hour or so with the scheduled Sky Sports coverage nowhere to be seen.
Instead, you were greeted with archive footage of rugby league, American football and boxing.
This saw disgruntled fans taking to social media to question what on earth was going on, with a fair bit of black humour along the way.
One questioned whether it was because nobody expected Wales to win, while another bemoaned the no-show, saying “I know we are bad, but I quite enjoy the misery”.
As one suspected at the time, it was confirmed by Sky that the issue was related to the ongoing global IT outage which has caused chaos around the world.
Without the live coverage to which we have become so accustomed, it was back to the old days when you had to follow games on Teletext, with live blogs from those reporters actually at the stadium the modern equivalent.
Eventually, the action did appear on our screens, with Sky broadcasting the feed from Australian channel Stan Sport.
Encouraging
With the aid of the half-time highlights, you were able to catch up on what had been happening and it made for pretty encouraging viewing.
Wales had opened the scoring with an early try from tighthead prop Archie Griffin who forced his way over from close range, while wingers Regan Grace and Rio Dyer then crossed in quick succession midway through the first half.
Making his debut, rugby league convert Grace finished off a slick handling move out on the left, with Dyer following up giving the scoring pass by profiting from a pinpoint Sam Costelow cross-kick three minutes later.
Just before the break, the lineout maul drive which has been such a weapon for Wales on tour delivered yet another score as flanker Christ Tshiunza got the ball down to secure a 24-14 interval lead.
Just six minutes after the restart, things looked even rosier when Nick Tompkins showed good feet to step between two defenders and reach the line after strong carries from fellow centre Eddie James and lock Matthew Screech.
With a 17 point lead, Wales were surely on course for that elusive win.
Defensive fragility
But that was the cue for the defensive fragility and attacking wastefulness which has undermined their efforts this year to rear its head once again.
The Queensland revival began with hooker Richie Asiata completing his hat-trick to confirm that while Wales are very adept at scoring off maul drives they are nowhere near as effective when it comes to defending them.
When wing Mac Grealy was sent over after sustained pressure exposed some soft shoulders, you could sense the belief growing among the hosts and the edginess mounting among the visitors.
Wales had a chance to restore a buffer as they set up a close-range attacking lineout, but for once it came to nothing as Queensland held them up to earn a defensive scrum.
That was to lead to arguably the try of the tour, as the Reds ran from their own line, covering 100 metres in six phases, with backs and forwards joining forces on a thrilling counter which culminated in Grealy claiming his second.
Back came Wales as they pummeled away at the opposition line in the closing stages, but after a succession of carriers were held up just short of the whitewash, prop Matt Gibbon jackaled over the prone Mason Grady to earn a relieving penalty.
Once more, an inability to convert golden opportunities into points in the red zone had hurt Gatland’s team.
From their celebrations, Queensland clearly felt they had a famous win in the bag at that point and you did fear the worst.
Plot twist
Losing becomes a habit and one questioned whether Wales had it left in them to break that habit after the morale-sapping experience of allowing such a sizeable lead to slip away.
But, to their credit, the men in black produced one last extraterrestrial effort as a final plot twist.
Holding their nerve, they went through some 18 phases, displaying good ball retention and continuity before Hardy eventually sniped over after Cam Winnett had been tackled just short.
Sam Costelow did his best to run down the clock with his elongated conversion attempt, but there was still one second to go and time for the restart.
That meant time for Wales to mess things up and when they spilled the kick-off you thought “here we go”, but they swiftly made amends by winning a breakdown penalty and that was that.
Their sense of relief on the final whistle was palpable as this has been a long old year for them, even though we are only just over half way through it.
Clearly there is still huge room for improvement, following on from the issues which emerged in the defeats to the Wallabies, but you just hope the win will do this group of young players the world of good.
On the individual front, Costelow was perhaps the pick of the bunch, having a fine game at fly-half. He lost the No 10 jersey to Ben Thomas for the Tests, but restored to the role he produced one of his best displays in a Welsh jersey.
Game management
His game management was impressive, as demonstrated by the 50-22 which set up the attacking position for Tompkins’ try, while his cross-kick for Dyer’s touchdown was precision personified with the winger not having to break stride. He varied his play nicely, distributing smoothly as he got the back-line moving, and it was good to see his undoubted talent re-emerging at the end of a difficult season.
Then there was Regan Grace. Much of the pre-match spotlight had focused on the former St Helens star who was making his first appearance for Wales in the 15-man code.
In fact, it was just his third game of rugby union since switching codes in 2022 due to successive Achilles tendon injuries.
But you wouldn’t have known it from his assured performance. He looked very much at home and there was certainly no sense of a fish out of water.
One thing we know he can do from his rugby league days is score tries, with 89 of them in 143 games for St Helens, and he soon proved he hasn’t forgotten his way to the whitewash.
It may be a different code, but it was the same outcome when he was released on the left wing, delivering a sharp finish.
Overall, he looked dangerous with ball in hand, especially when given the space to show his pace, but what was particularly impressive was his defensive work.
That’s the aspect of the game which league converts often find the most challenging, especially positional-wise.
But he seems to have grasped things pretty quickly, producing three key interventions after the break – a crunching tackle, a timely interception and the chasing down of an opponent who had broken away.
So, all in all, a very positive start.
Versatility
Elsewhere, Taine Plumtree demonstrated his versatility by starting in a third different position on tour, wearing No 7 after donning the 6 and 8 jerseys in the Tests.
He has given a good account of himself in all three positions, with his dynamic carrying and his defensive work-rate, and looks to have a big part to play within the squad moving forwards.
Christ Tshiunza was another to show his adaptability, switching to the blindside flank after impressing at lock against the Wallabies and he can be very pleased with his efforts on tour.
Tshiunza and Plumtree were joined by Dafydd Jenkins, Rio Dyer and Archie Griffin in starting all three games Down Under, with Griffin one of the big plusses of the trip.
Wales have been crying out for a young tighthead to step up and the Bath 22-year-old has certainly done that, capping a huge shift over the past three weeks with a powerfully pouched try.
As for the players making their first starts on tour, Mackenzie Martin had clearly been straining at the leash to get out there and was a hard man to contain at No 8, while Eddie James really caught the eye at inside centre. Scarlets youngster James just looks like a natural ball-carrying 12 with his ground-grabbing bursts and astute lines of running and it does again show the benefit of playing people in their club positions.
By the same token, Mason Grady looked more effective when he entered the fray in the wider channel which he has become accustomed to occupying at Cardiff.
Leader
Finally, a word for and from tour captain Dewi Lake who came off the bench to help Wales over the line.
He has been an outstanding leader both on and off the field and he spoke really well after the game when asked what the message was for long-suffering Welsh fans.
“Just thank you for the support,” he replied.
“They have stuck by us through some tough times and hopefully we are starting to show what we are going to bring.
“We have been struggling to get over the line and get a win, but this will give us great drive going into the autumn.”
Come that autumn series, Wales should have the likes of Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams, Josh Adams, Aaron Wainwright, Will Rowlands, Taulupe Faletau, Adam Beard and Gareth Anscombe back available to name just a few of the current absentees.
Add those to the young players who have emerged with real credit from this tour of Australia and you have the makings of a competitive team.
As to whether that will see the much-needed win in Brisbane replicated on the Test stage, well that’s a story for another day.
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This is the difference from yesteryear, These Players don’t seem to know how to defend, or point in fact, don’t care to. Giving up a 100m try at any level is unforgivable!