2023-09-16 18:07:47
With a reshuffled team, Wales dominated Portugal this Saturday in Group C of the World Cup (28-8). The Leek XV nevertheless suffered once morest a valiant team and only pocketed its offensive bonus following the siren.
After a tough fight last Sunday once morest Fiji, Wales faced Portugal in Nice for the second day of the group stage. Portuguese people, full of enthusiasm and who were launching their World Cup.
We knew the Portuguese were players, capable of offering interesting things offensively. The start of the game confirms this a priori. The Portuguese back line, guided by the experience of Samuel Marques, undermines the Welsh defense. The Portuguese scrum half also misses a penalty in these ropes to open the scoring (5′). The Welsh are enterprising but cannot find the solution. We finally have to wait for a flash of genius from Rees-Zammit to unblock the situation. On his wing, the Welshman taps to follow and scores in the corner. (7-0, 10′). The Portuguese are not paid and continue to play a lot. Martins is picked up just in front of the line even though he had been perfectly found by Guedes (18′). Marques will end up opening the Portuguese counter before Dewi Lake takes on the Lagisquet players just before the break. On a hand-played penalty, the Welsh hooker flattened it to the ground (14-3, 40′). In the match, Portugal was eleven lengths behind at the break, not necessarily justified.
The Welsh snatch the offensive bonus
The Welsh will wait until the last moments of the game to win the offensive bonus point. The start of the second half was a succession of forwards and various fouls. Marques lets three more points slip away (51′). More experienced, the Welsh rely on the basics of rugby to give themselves a little fresh air. By wearing down the Portuguese defense, Morgan scores close for the third try (21-3, 59′). The Portuguese are still in the game and want their try. Something done by Martins, following a superb combination in touch (21-8, 63′). Wales doesn’t show much and timidly tries to score a fourth try. In the end, it was once more the scrum and Faletau who finished the job by scoring the fourth try, synonymous with an offensive bonus, beyond regulation time (28-8, 83′).
Thus, the Portuguese will have presented a first copy of very good quality but without winning a single point. For their part, Wales scored a five-point victory without having shone.
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