Fiji 14 Wales 58

Wales broke the half century mark as they beat a somewhat lacklustre Fijian side 58-14 in their one-off Test at a closed-roof Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.  The seven tries to two victory is Wales' biggest win ever over the Fijians.

The previous biggest win by the Welsh was a 40-3 triumph over the Fijians on 9 November 1985.  The seven tries scored by the Welsh on Saturday also equals the record of seven, scored back in '85.

While the Fijians showed some resistance in the early stages of the game, the second half was one-way traffic.

It was a first half that produced plenty Fijian aggression, maybe a bit too much, as the yellow card showed to Seremaia Bai after about 20 minutes can attest.

A string of penalties cost the Fijians dearly, with Stephen Jones slotting five penalties in the first 24 minutes to give his team a handy 15-0 lead.

But two tries in the final five minutes before the break put the game beyond the tourists, with Rhys Williams going over under the posts after turnover ball and great counter play by the Welsh -- with Jones adding the conversion -- while Mark Jones added a second try in injury time.

At 27-0 it seemed as if there was no way back for the Fijians.

There was a period around the 30-minute mark in the first half when the powerful Fijian runners tested the Welsh defence.  Wales were forced to make tackle after tackle on their tryline, but held firm.

This period, which brought no reward, seemed to take the fight out of the tourists.

At the break Fiji took off Joseph Narruhn, and brought on the Sevens specialist Waisale Serevi in the hope of sparking their backline into action.

But it was the Welsh Dragons who produced the first score of the second period, when loose forward Colin Charvis went over under the posts, after a period of sustained pressure.

With the Fijians still giving away penalties, almost at will, the next score also went to the Welsh -- with the home team spreading it wide and Sonny Parker crashing over the line to score a fourth try for the Welsh.

This was followed by another Mark Jones try and Stephen Jones' third conversion.

At this stage the Fijian defence seemed to have fallen apart and they also lost the heart that is usually associated with the physical Fijians.

They did finally manage a score, when winger Fero Lasagavibau used his pace to go over under the posts.  Nicky Little added the conversion to make it 46-7, but the game was long over as a contest.

There were late tries for Gareth Thomas (Wales) and Waisale Serevi (Fiji) as the game opened up towards the end.

Man of the match:  Mark Jones scored two great tries for the Welsh, but he gets our vote for his all-round performance -- which included help setting up a great try for his team.

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Billy Cavubati, 2 Greg Smith (c), 3 Richard Nyholt, 4 Apisai Naevo, 5 Simon Raiwalui, 6 Alifereti Doviverata, 7 Seta Tawake Naivaluwaqa, 8 Alfi Mocelutu Vuivau, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Fero Lasagavibau, 12 Seremaia Bai, 13 Seru Rabeni, 14 Norman Ligairi, 15 Joseph Narruhn
Reserves:  Waisale Serevi, Sami Rabaka Nasagavesi
Unused:  Paula Biu, Bill Gadolo, Isaia Rasila

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Mefin Davies, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Tom Shanklin, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves:  Iestyn Harris, Martyn Madden, Richard Parks, Jamie Robinson, Steve Williams
Unused:  Ryan Powell, Andrew Lewis

Referee:  Dickinson s.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Serevi W.T. 1, Ligairi N. 1
Conv:  Serevi W.T. 1, Little N.T. 1

Wales
Tries:  Jones M.A. 2, Parker S. 1, Williams G.R. 1, Penalty try 1, Charvis C.L. 1, Thomas G. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 1, Jones S.M. 3
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 5