WALES 24 CANADA 26
Communication lines between fly half Adrian Davies and the coaching staff appeared to be confusing as the Cardiff pivot shrugged his shoulders to the bench in the second half. Unfortunately for Wales, Adrian’s opposite number, Gareth Rees, soon to be with Newport, was in splendid form and was the best player on the park.
Wales just kept in touch with eight Neil Jenkins penalty goals, but it was always likely to be glory for Canada, though it was the dying seconds before big Al Charron galloped over halfway out at the Westgate Street end to tie the
scores.
With time up it all rested on the Rees conversion. It was missable, but not to the skilled boot of the fly half, who kept his nerve and gave his country its greatest day on a rugby pitch.
There was a Wales debut for 21-years-old Scott Quinnell, whose father Derek, a three-time British Lion, had been capped 23 times and whose younger brother Craig was later to also gain a Wales cap.
Wales: A Clement (Swansea); I Evans (Llanelli, capt), S Gibbs (Swansea), NJenkins (Pontypridd), W Proctor (Llanelli); A Davies (Cardiff), R Moon (Llanelli); M Griffiths, (Cardiff), G Jenkins (Swansea), J Davies (Neath), A Copsey (Llanelli), Gareth Llewellyn (Neath), S Quinnell (Llanelli), E Lewis (Llanelli), Lyn Jones (Llanelli). (no replacements were used).
Scorer – Pens: N Jenkins 8.
Canada: M Williams; R Toews, S Gray, I Stuart (capt), D Stewart; G Rees, C Tynan; P Szabo, I Kennedy, D Jackart, J Knauer, A Charron, I Gordon, C McKenzie, J Hutchinson. Reps: I Mackay for C Tynan (temp); I Cooper for Knauer. Scorers – Tries: I Stuart, A Charron. Cons: G Rees 2. Pens: G Rees 4.
Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland).
