Welsh ‘stand-in’ saves the day

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 34

Welsh ‘stand-in’ saves the day

NZPA Cardiff The Swansea full-back, Roger Blyth, saved Wales from embarrassment and defused the J, P. R- Williams lobby when the Welsh began their centenary season with a 32-25 win over an international side at Cardiff yesterday. Regarded as only a stand-in full-back, although he has won six caps, Blyth scored 24 of Wales* points, including three tries. In a match effectively being used as a dress-re-hearsal for the November 1 test against the All

Blacks, Wales scored five tries to two. The Welsh team roared into the match and was 28-9 up at half-time, Blyth having scored 20 of th® But the overseas team, culled from non-inter-national board countries and playing only its second match, found cohesion in the second half and the Welsh at times looked ragged. When Wales was on top, a disappointing crowd of 25,000 sang “feed me till I want no more” but the sentiment soon faded as the overseas team, in

Irish green, switched dramatically from defence to offence. Opportunist play from the Fijian half-back, Paulo Waisake, and the Cana« dian full-back, Graham Taylor, sent Wales back into desperation tactics and the heavy artillery of the United Nations force came when Soakai Motu’ Apuaka, the bulky Tongan prop, twice crashed over for tries. The accurate boot of the Rumanian centre, lon Constantin, chipped away at the Welsh margin and at, 32-25, with 10 minutes left, a humiliating defeat

for Wales looked possible. Its chief line-out man of the first half, Cardiff’s Bob Norster, was outreached by his former team mate, Hans de Goede, of Canada, and the Welsh half-back combination of Brynmor Williams and Gareth Davies began to get flustered, with the result that the Welsh backline lost its first-half fluidity. The overseas side cut Welsh moves off at source rather than letting them get out of hand, as they did in the first half when Wales used the full width of Cardiff Arms park to

run the overseas side into bother. In spite of the prospect of defeat the Welsh captain, Steve Fenwick, earned the applause of the crowd only a minute from the end when he ran a penalty inside the 22 and in front of the posts rather than have Blyth take the safe three points. Scorers — Wales: Roger Blyth 3 tries, 3 conversions and 2 penalties, Steve Fenwick and Brynmor Williams tries. Overseas XV: Soakai Motu’ Apuaka 2 tries, lon Constantine 5 penalties and a conversion.