Wales beat Barbarians but learn very little on strangest of days
Wales secured a 33-31 victory over the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham in what was described as the strangest of matches. The uncapped warm-up game provided limited learning for Steve Tandy's side as they prepare for their Nations Championship campaign against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa next month. However, confidence remains brittle in the Welsh game, with any fixture of this nature as likely to prove a setback as productive.
The sweltering conditions, with temperatures pushing 30 degrees, made for a broken affair with little chance for the game to flow. It was scrappy at times, and the low-key nature of the encounter meant lessons were hard to come by. Wales were carved open a little too easily in the wider channels on occasions, though the Barbarians' attacks lacked the incisiveness that a more cohesive side might have mustered. The risk with these games is that nobody really places value in them until you lose.
The standout storyline was George North's farewell after a glittering 16-year career. The 34-year-old scored two tries for the Barbarians, including one with his first touch, before remarkably kicking his first professional conversion. "To score two tries and finish like that in front of the Welsh guys in the crowd and with the Barbarians boys after a special week has been incredible," North said afterwards, later overcome with emotion.
Four uncapped players made their Wales debuts: Rhys Barratt, Ben Warren, Ryan Woodman and Harrison Keddie all came off the bench. Head coach Tandy praised their contributions, noting: "The competition gets a little bit higher and we've got to continue to do that." He will now reduce his initial 48-man squad to between 32 and 34 players following injuries to Keiron Assiratti, Liam Belcher and Louie Hennessey. An influx of twelve English and French club players, including Louis Rees-Zammit and Dafydd Jenkins, will join for upcoming Tests. Despite the victory, Tandy acknowledged Wales must improve consistency before facing Fiji next Saturday.