Saturday 12 October 2019 12:37, UK
Sky Sports Rugby's resident stats guru, Rhodri Jeremiah, takes a closer look at all the stats from Wales' thrilling 29-17 Rugby World Cup win over Fiji.
When Welsh fans hear the word Fiji, they automatically think of Nantes in 2007 when their countrymen lost 38-34 at Stade de la Beaujoire in the pool stages of the World Cup.
Eight minutes in on Wednesday, Warren Gatland's side were 10-0 down and it all seemed like deja vu. But there is a difference with this Wales side compared to 2007. They now know how to win, albeit ugly.
Everyone loves seeing Fiji play, just not against the country they are supporting. They play such an exciting brand of rugby - and they always look threatening with ball in hand, even from within their own 22.
In attack, Fiji made 117 carries and 465 metres, beating 32 defenders along the way. Wales, in comparison, made fewer carries (83), fewer metres (384) and also beat fewer defenders (19).
Fiji flyer Semi Radradra was named player of the match, despite being on the losing side - a highly unusual occurrence these days. But Radradra's performance was so special, that not even Wales' hat-trick hero Josh Adams made the grade.
Radradra, who plies his trade with Bordeaux-Begles in the Top 14, made the most carries (18), second most metres (124) and beat seven defenders. He was also player of the match in Fiji's previous pool clash against Georgia. In that game, he scored two tries, made five clean breaks and ran for 177 metres. He really is a joy to watch.
Fiji offload at will and Leone Nakarawa's basketball-style offload in the lead-up to the opening try was a collector's item. The second-row offloaded three times in the game - the most by any player in the match.
Since that defeat in Nantes in 2007, Wales have not lost to Fiji. They have faced each other on four occasions, discounting Wednesday, and have won three and drawn one. When Adams crossed over for his first try after 17 minutes, normality was being restored. Wales were beginning to take control and to quote Warren Gatland's famous phrase, his team have "forgotten how to lose".
Dan Biggar, Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams were all standout performers on Wednesday. All three are leaders - they know that when the going gets tough, they revert to type and do what they do best. Biggar had a fine game with the boot, not only off the tee but also with ball in hand. Some might say the result would have been different if Fiji 10 Ben Volavola had had Biggar's kicking boots, as he missed both of his kicks off the tee.
Davies and Adams worked in tandem for the crucial third try which put Wales on course for victory - Davies with his trademark hand-off and a super offload for Adams to finish in the corner.
Williams had a solid game in the 15 shirt making the second most carries (14), most metres (141) and scoring the bonus-point clinching try.
Despite picking up five match points on Wednesday, Wales' defence coach Shaun Edwards would not have been happy with his side's defensive display. They made 126 tackles but, alarmingly for him, they missed 32.
This is not the first time Wales have missed over 30 tackles in recent games. Against Australia, they missed 31, and they also missed the same number in the first World Cup warm-up fixture against England at Twickenham. In the Six Nations, they also missed 36 against Scotland. This is a worrying trend for any Welsh fan and one that needs rectifying if they are to progress much further in the competition.
Wales play Uruguay on Sunday in their final pool fixture, and if that result goes their way, they will definitely be facing France in the quarter-finals Sunday week in Oita.
The whole of Wales will be hoping there is not a repeat of that opening 40 in Paris in the most recent meeting with Les Bleus, when they went into the break 16-0 down. If that happens, it will definitely be a case of deja vu.
