Wales in good condition to tackle next hurdle

Wales won't need to beat up each other in training this week because they got enough tackling practice in keeping Fiji scoreless on Sunday.

The Welsh attacking and defensive specialists can be satisfied at the 66-0 victory in the final pool match and defence coach Shaun Edwards was particularly pleased.

The players now have a six-day turnaround before meeting Ireland in the quarter-final at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday.

“We got some good tackling practice in and because the game is a six-day turnaround, it’s not easy to get full-on contact sessions in training," said Edwards.

He was also pleased the players were disappointed with themselves for allowing Namibia to score an intercept try in their 81-7 win and had tried extra hard against Fiji to keep them from racking up any points.

“It’s very unusual to get a zero nowadays in rugby," said Edwards. "To get a zero you have to shoot out to a quite convincing first-half lead otherwise people go for penalties.

Good shape

“Fiji battled on to the end and did their best, but our line held strong until the end of the game.

"It’s not as if Fiji never had the ball. Possession was pretty equal."

Edwards said Wales were in good shape going into the knockout stage, with no major injuries.

“I think we’re looking pretty healthy, probably the healthiest we’ve been, going into this week," he said. "It’s very promising in that area.

“Over the last two or three years we’ve definitively had more than our fair share of injuries and it’s probably come at the right time that we have a lot of guys available.”

Edwards said knockout games held no fears for either camp.

“It’s just like a Heineken Cup situation where you have your group stages and then you’re into a sudden-death situation. Our guys are used to that, as are the Irish lads.

“It’s a moment in time you have to seize and both teams will be giving 100 per cent to try to make sure they are not the team who are packing their bags on Monday."