Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland sees little wrong with Dan Biggar’s blast at George North
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Dan Biggar gestured to the stands and berated North for not kicking the ball into touch to bring on the half-time break.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BORDEAUX – Wales coach Warren Gatland said he saw little wrong with Dan Biggar’s outburst at teammate George North during Sunday’s thrilling 32-26 victory over Fiji in their Pool C opener at the Rugby World Cup.
Fly-half Biggar gestured to the stands and berated North for not kicking the ball into touch to bring on the half-time break when Wales were under pressure in their own 22 and holding a narrow 18-14 lead.
“It’s not personal, it’s professional... I didn’t have a problem with it. It’s about making people accountable,” said Gatland.
“There’s nothing wrong with players in terms of challenging each other. We want that as part of the group, so that everyone is accountable.
“That peer pressure is huge in terms of that and taking responsibility. Those sort of criticism aren’t personal. We talk about it being a point of care. It’s about the team getting better and individuals getting better, because we need to be comfortable with being critical.”
He added: “I think it would have been his mother’s birthday today and she passed away a few years ago. So today would have been pretty emotional for him. I hope she was looking down on him.”
Victory in the raucous, freewheeling contest offers a beleaguered Welsh squad redemption after losing six of eight internationals in 2023, while Fiji’s hopes of advancing already look dented for all their recent progress.
The win was almost stolen at the end by the Pacific Islanders, who were fighting back from an 18-point deficit and could have completed an unlikely comeback before Fiji’s star centre Semi Radradra, of all players, knocked on with the try line in sight.
Both teams scored four tries in a game full of line breaks, exciting running and bruising clashes that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, especially at the end as Fiji fought back from 32-14 down.
“I’m delighted with the win, but we made it a lot harder for ourselves than we needed to, made some dumb decisions in the last 15 minutes,” Gatland added.
“We’ll have a thorough review that we need to go through, some of the discipline and stuff. I’m a little bit angry about a few things, but the positive is we won.
“I thought we were in control of the game, but we know what Fiji are like and what they’re capable of and we lost a bit of composure.”
Biggar, who missed a few kicks but was otherwise one of the better performers for Wales, said his team showed heart.
“We always seem to make it hard for ourselves, but what we make up for with effort and courage and determination is just huge for this team,” he added.
Josh Adams, North, Louis Rees-Zammit and Elliot Dee crossed over for Wales with Biggar adding two penalties and three conversions, while Waisea Nayacalevu, Lekima Tagitagivalu, Josua Tuisova and Mesake Doge were Fiji’s try scorers.
“We just weren’t clinical enough. We dropped the ball over the try line. We had a couple of opportunities we couldn’t score,” Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui said.
A tournament so far rife with video referee controversies can add several more to the list from this game. A close-range Fiji score late in the second half was chalked off for a knock-on, with Ryan Elias escaping on-field censure for what many fans may feel was a no-arms tackle.
Wales’ George North during the Rugby World Cup 2023 in Bordeaux, France, on Sept 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Wales also managed to concede clusters of penalties near their own line in the second half without having players sent to the sin bin.
Raiwalui stopped short of a full-throated condemnation of Matthew Carley’s refereeing of the game, but did express some surprise at Wales not sustaining more than one yellow card in the game.
“It’s tough to talk when you’re hot after the match. When we were down in the corner, we had multiple penalties and didn’t get a yellow card (for Wales). Referees have a tough job, we didn’t get the rub of the green,” he said.
Captain Nayacalevu declined to comment on the refereeing of the game when asked, saying instead his team had more opportunities to score than they managed to convert. Said the 33-year-old centre: “We made mistakes on the field and we paid for it. Wales took advantage, but we fought to the end and it was unlucky that final pass went to ground.”
As for what the reaction would have been in Fiji had Radradra scored and then the try converted, Nayacalevu gave a broad grin.
“I can only imagine the whole country would have been on its feet.” REUTERS, AFP
