Warren Gatland’s troops outscored their Pacific opponents by three tries to one in front of a crowd of 61,326 at the Millennium Stadium as they bounced back from last week’s late loss to Australia.
Wings George North and Alex Cuthbert touched down in the first quarter as Wales began brightly against another of their opponents at next year’s Rugby World Cup, with forward dominance then bringing about a penalty try just before half time.
Fiji saw prop Campese Ma’afu sent off 12 minutes after the restart but Wales were unable to stretch the gap and giant centre Nemani Nadolo ensured the result remained in the balance until the death when he grabbed an interception score with less than two minutes remaining.
Wales were up and running with just five minutes on the clock as North finished off a fine backline move. It was the forwards who built the platform for the Northampton wing to dot down in the left hand corner as Justin Tipuric’s tackle forced Waisea Nayacalevu to throw a wild pass into touch and the rest of the pack followed suit with a solid setpiece and driving maul. Rhys Priestland exchanged passes with Roberts when the ball was moved into centre field and Scott Williams provided the cutting edge in drawing the last two defenders to present his former Scarlets teammate with a simple run in.
Priestland, who was one of eight changes from the game against the Wallabies,  narrowly missed the extras from inches in from touch before Fiji came close to replying in kind with 11 minutes gone as they pounced on a loose ball after the Wales fly half’s pass hit the deck. But Wales escaped thanks to some fine defensive work from try scorer North as he forced Nayacalevu to knock on when attempting to gather with the line at his mercy.
Instead, it was Wales who were celebrating once more seven minutes later as forward power again built the foundations for another try out wide. This time it was Cuthbert who was the beneficiary as he eased home from close range after patient phase play had followed a quickly-taken free kick off the back of a Fijian scrum offence 10 metres from their try line.
Fiji hit back with a brace of penalties from Nadolo in the space of five minutes, though, to ensure Wales led by just four points approaching the half hour.
And the Islanders could have been ahead just 60 seconds after Nadolo’s second strike as Leicester centre Vereniki Goneva burst through from deep only for skipper Akapusi Qera to pass up a two-man overlap as Wales attempted to recover. Nadolo was off target with the resulting penalty from the 15-metre line on the left when Wales were caught offside and the Fijians paid the ultimate price seven minutes later as Gatland’s men were awarded a penalty try having weathered the storm.Â
The rolling maul did the damage deep in Fijian territory, with former Cardiff Blues loosehead Ma’afu yellow carded for illegal entry before referee Pascal Gauzere lost patience with the visiting pack as a whole as the Wales eight continued to turn the screw.
Priestland landed the simple extras to increase the Welsh lead to 17-6 and it stayed that way up to the break after Nadolo missed from distance just shy of the half-time whistle.
Dan Lydiate was inches from extending the gap two minutes after the second period kicked off only to be penalised for a double movement and the same player was again denied 10 minutes later as the TMO ruled that the ball had been held up after yet another dominant driving maul.Â
Fiji were reduced to 14 men on a permanent basis moments after Lydiate’s latest close call as Ma’afu received his marching orders for a second yellow card after taking out Bradley Davies at a five-metre lineout. The visitors refused to give up the ghost, however, and continued to frustrate Wales for much of the final 25 minutes.
Young Ospreys prop Nicky Smith became the latest Wales international when he replaced captain Gethin Jenkins with a quarter of an hour remaining but Wales were unable to cross the Fijian whitewash as the game broke up in the last quarter.
Cuthbert was forced into touch after quick feet from man of the match Liam Williams as Wales went in search of their fourth try  three minutes before Smith’s arrival and Talupe Faletau had a score wiped out with nine minutes left on the clock. The Wales No8 sprinted home from distance after a brilliant break from Liam Williams but Gauzere called for the TMO’s input once again and Carlo Damasco ruled that the full back had not released the ball before regathering possession after being tackled close to halfway.Â
Wales kept the ball alive whenever possible as they pressed to end on a high but Nadolo picked off Priestland inside the Fijian half to cut the margin of victory to four points rather than 11.
