Wales’s record against the USA read as six played, six won after this encounter, but there were danger signs at the beginning of the second half that the USA could have been a force to be reckoned with had the home side allowed their complacency to get the better of them.
Dafydd James got the first points on the board for Wales as he returned to the starting line-up through a flick-pass from Arwel Thomas who had received the ball from Mark Taylor. James was able to out-pace Jovesa Naivalu, moving around his opponent and handing him off to record the crucial score. The try should have settled Wales, but that was far from the case, and patches of possession were matched by reckless handling and error strewn play that allowed the USA to attack sporadically as the home side appeared to eager to attack. More haste may have produced more clinical results but instead Wales spilt the ball failed to make passes and the line-out failed as Garin Jenkins routinely missed his intended target.
Just short of the half hour Wales were able to step up a gear after a clean line-out ball to Chris Wyatt which was in turn fed to the mercurial Thomas. Thomas in turn made space for Allen Bateman who whipped the ball out to Captain Mark Taylor who was unmarked. With a clear run in front of him, Taylor crashed over to score the second try of the match.
Only minorly adrift, the USA rattled Wales as complacency set in at the start of the second half as an early try from wing Malakai Delai coupled with a penalty from Grant Wells cut the deficit to just 18-8. Thomas had proved to be the leading light in the match thus far, following his composed performance against Samoa and with the South Africa match only a week away he provided some food-for-thought for Coach Graham Henry as he justified his selection ahead of Neil Jenkins with an inspired moment of fly-half magic.
In the 54th minute Howley set-up his half back partner after the ball had been recycled on the USA 22m line and Thomas came up against a perfect, solid USA defence with no apparent way through. Unphased, Thomas produced a dummy to wrong-foot his opponent, charged forward and danced past the covering defender to smash down between the posts. The try was brilliant, the reaction was one of relief and the full barrage of Welsh assaults were able to begin nerve free.
Allan Bateman made a break to distribute the ball to Rhys Williams, and a Dafydd James break from a defensive position saw him secure a brace. Thomas’s contribution was recognised by a standing ovation from the crowd on 66 minutes as Neil Jenkins came on to replace him, and not to be out-done, Jenkins ensured that Thomas wasn’t the only try-scoring fly-half on display against the USA, touching down in injury time.
