Wales 28-8 Portugal reaction as Gatland's men secure vital bonus point (2024)

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We will have all the post-match reaction on WalesOnline for the rest of your evening, and when you're sipping your Sunday morning tea tomorrow!

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Warren Gatland Q&A: Young player impressed me but it's stressful watching Wales right now

An excerpt from the Warren Gatland press conference:

What was the situation with Tommy Reffell pulling out and just how impressive was Jac Morgan stepping in last minute?

"It was a decision we only made just before kick-off. Tommy said his calf was a bit tight. I think he was still quite keen to take the field but if he pulled that calf, that would have been his World Cup over.

"To put Jac in as a straight replacement with very limited preparation from this week, I thought he was good."

How does this rank as a birthday present ahead of tomorrow?

"It’s not easy at the moment sitting in the box. It’s a little bit stressful. The message at half-time was that it was 21 minutes ball in play. We did that job in terms of trying to their feet away from us. They'd thrown everything at us in those first 20 minutes.

"They probably didn't have the same opportunities in the second half in terms of putting us under that sort of pressure. We probably didn’t help ourselves in terms of managing that. We were conscious about getting that bonus point at the end. The one that was ruled as a non-try, I’m looking at that and I'm not sure where Tomas Francis is supposed to go. He just stopped still.

"That was a little bit frustrating. But we regrouped. When we ran hard and won those collision, that's when we looked dangerous. Probably at times, we were a little bit lateral. It’s good we’ve given everyone in the squad an opportunity and some rugby. We've a little bit more time in terms of preparation before Australia and we can start looking forward to that game."

READ THE FULL Q & A HERE -

WATCH: The Taulupe Faletau try that sealed the bonus point

One? Two? Not even three players could stop Faletau from scoring after he peeled off the back of the scrum.

A crucial score from the Number Eight, and it could make all the difference when every team has played their pool games.

Watch below:

Taulupe Faletau driving and SCORING a vital try for Wales!

How crucial could that be for #WAL?#RWC2023 | #WALvPOR pic.twitter.com/xJuv3h3udT

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 16, 2023

What needs to happen for Wales in the Fiji v Australia match

Wales' pool rivals are in action tomorrow, in what's set to be a mammoth clash.

Jon Doel and Robert Harries show us exactly what needs to happen.

Here's an excerpt from the piece:

Fiji and Australia now play on Sunday afternoon, with a Wallabies victory enough to make sure Wales go through as long as they beat Georgia. Wales, of course, could secure passage to the knockouts by beating Australia next weekend, but even defeat in that game will not be terminal, providing they get that win over Georgia in their final match.

A Fijian victory over the Wallabies will make things more complicated if Wales then don't beat Australia, with Wales, Fiji and Australia all potentially finishing the group having lost just one match. This scenario means bonus points could well become very important. A more detailed explanation is here and the two losing bonus points Fiji got in defeat to Wales last week could yet be crucial.

If the teams do finish level on points after all matches are completed, the following criteria decides what happens next... find out by clicking here -The result Wales now need from Fiji v Australia as last-gasp try so crucial

The player ratings are locked in

Steffan Thomas provides the Wales player ratings from today's match.

Here are some of his calls:

• Gareth Anscombe - 4 - There was always going to be some rust given this was Anscombe's first game of the season but he wasn't at his best at the Stade de Nice. Failed to ignite Wales' backline, making some poor decisions in attack.

• Dewi Lake - 6 - His work around the field is not in question with the Ospreys hooker constantly getting over the gain-line, making 23 metres from 12 carries. The Ospreys man also put in 11 tackles and scored a crucial try but his throwing in at the lineout remains a big concern with Wales' set-piece malfunctioning after the break.

• Louis Rees-Zammit - 7 - Wales' most dangerous attacking weapon and they have to find a more effective way of getting the Gloucester wing into the game. Showed his pace and footballing ability to score a stunning first-half try while he also set up Gareth Davies for a score before it was disallowed.

READ ALL THE RATINGS HERE - Wales v Portugal player ratings as Morgan leads from the front but others blow chance

Lacklustre victory dissected by Ben James

Ben James has picked apart that less-than-satisfactory performance.

Here's an excerpt from the piece:

We've yet to see an upset in this tournament so far - excluding jokes about Wales beating Fiji - and few would have really predicted this would have been the place to start.

Particularly as France's workmanlike win over Uruguay was as visible a warning as you could wish for not to underestimate the supposedly weaker teams.

In the first-half, it wasn't one that Wales necessarily took much notice of.

Portugal were, to their credit, fearless. Willing to run from anywhere, with scrum-half Samuel Marques and full-back Nuno Sousa Guedes proving hard to handle.

They found gaps in Wales' defence through a desire to move the point of attack, plus a wicked array of sidesteps and offloads. They also used the kicking game well, with one little dinked box-kick catching Wales with no one in the backfield, while there were two 50:22s that helped them build momentum.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE - Wales beat Portugal but find a whole heap of problems

That's all

That's everything from the head coach and co-captain.

Watching Fiji v Australia on your birthday?

Probably. It was a bit of a birthday present that came early.

Gatland

Good for rugby that Portugal and Uruguay play well?

I thought Uruguay were outstanding. We’ve seen some blowouts. But it’s fantastic for rugby. I thought Portugal were good tonight and showed some enterprise. We were aware of that and I think it’s important we continue to develop them. You don’t want top tier nations dominating, you want upsets. As long as I’m not a part of it!

Gatland

Faletau, Warren?

I think it was tough. We know he’s not a player like Richie McCaw who can be out for months and step back into Test rugby. He needs a run of games. He did some really good things today and he’ll continue to get better. The unfortunate thing with the hard work he did was that the injury set him back. He made some good decisions today. Probably not many people would have been able to score that.

Gatland

Dewi, co-captains on the field?

It’s always great to have Jac on the field. Gutted for Tommy, pulling out. Jac stepped in and he was great doing that at short notice. He’s great to talk to.

Lake

Warren, game management in last 10 minutes?

There were a couple of lineouts we lost but I thought we controlled the game. We were conscious we could have taken points but we kept them down there and squeezed them. We had some decisions that didn’t help us.

Gatland

Surprised by Portugal’s physicality?

No, we’d done our homework. We understood what they were going to bring from a physicality standpoint. We spoke about them being a mini-Fiji. They want to run. We understood the task that was ahead of us. In terms of physicality, we won that battle. They spoke about our physicality in the week and I think we proved we’re a physical team.

Lake

Henry Thomas?

He didn’t take part in the warm-up today. Probably in the next 24/48 hours, we’ll see how that hamstring is and if he’s in contention.

Gatland

Rank in birthday presents ahead of tomorrow?

It’s not easy sitting in the box at the moment. It’s a little bit stressful. The message at half-time was that it was 21 minutes ball in play at half-time. We did that job of taking their feet away from us. They threw everything at us. We didn’t help ourselves with managing that. We were conscious about getting that bonus point. The non-try, I’m looking at that and not sure where Tomas Francis is supposed to go. That was frustrating. At times, we were a little bit lateral. It’s good we’ve given everyone in the squad some rugby.

Gatland

Tommy Reffell and how impressive was Jac Morgan?

It was a decision we only made before kick-off. Tommy said his calf was tight. He was keen to take the field but if he pulled that, it’s his World Cup over. To put Jac in as a straight replacement, I thought he was very good.

Gatland

Any players stake a claim for Australia?

It’s a little bit early to be making decisions for that. We’ll look at the review. I thought Rio Dyer was good in the air and worked hard. He probably forced a pass a couple of times. He gives you 100 per cent. He’s improved in his game.

Gatland

Warren, thoughts?

Happy with the bonus point. If someone said you’d have 10 points from the first two games, we’d be happy with that. There were aspects we weren’t happy with. We tried to play too much rugby. But those guys haven’t had much rugby. I just said to them, job done. we.ve got the five points.

Gatland

Gatland and Lake here

Here we go

Portugal up first

At the end of the day, we’re frustrated. We wanted to win this game. But we didn’t perform. We didn’t have a solid scrum. We had too many mistakes in the backs. And we were punished. We didn’t show the level of rugby we can. We’re not here just to be a presence, we’re here to win and today we’re frustrated.

We let the emotions get the better of us. We needed to adapt sooner. We need to grow a lot as a team on that.

Portugal captain Tomas Appleton

Post-match player stats

Here are the player statistics from that tough encounter with Portugal.

• Most points -Leigh Halfpenny (WAL) - 6
• Most tackles - Nicoloas Martins (POR) - 19
• Most metres - Louis Rees-Zammit (WAL) - 89
• Most offloads - Rafael Simoes (POR) - 3
• Most carries that crossed the gainline - Johnny Williams (WAL) - 11

Gatland up shortly

Phew.

Let's hear what Warren Gatland made of that one then. He'll be with us shortly.

Louis Rees-Zammit pulled out the 'Siu'!

Have some of that, Cristiano.

Playing against Ronaldo's Portugal, Rees-Zammit pulled out the footballer's iconic celebration after scoring his try.

FULL TIME: WALES 28-8 PORTUGAL

Pinto's yellow card was upgraded to a red moments before the full time whistle.

Sam Costelow ends the game with a strike between the uprights.

A vital bonus point has been secured!

TRY WALES!!! TAULUPE FALETAU

That's the bonus point!

Faletau picks it up after the scrum and bowls over the Portugese defence.

Sam Costelow knocks over the extras!

WAL 28-8 POR

Wales coming closer

Wales have advantage and Josh Adams comes close to scoring.

Wales lose possession but it's brought back for the advantage.

Welsh scrum.

WAL 21-8 POR

Wales need another score to secure bonus point win

These final few minutes are crucial.

Wales have a scrum deep into Portugal territory.

WAL 21-8 POR

PORTUGAL YELLOW CARD: Josh Adams kicked clean in the face by Vincent Pinto

The Portugal winger goes up to catch the ball and accidentally catches Adams in the head with his foot.

It's going to the bunker now.

WAL 21-8 POR

TRY RULED OUT

No bonus point yet for Wales.

Tomas Francis pinged for obstruction.

WAL 21-8 POR

CONVERSION SAM COSTELOW

No problems for Sam.

WAL 28-8 POR