DAN BIGGAR GUIDED Wales to their eighth consecutive victory as a much-changed side scored 10 tries in a comprehensive 74-24 thrashing of Tonga in Cardiff.
Tonga battered their way back from a 24-3 deficit to draw level early in the second-half at the Principality Stadium.
But the floodgates opened as the Welsh, with a host of World Cup hopefuls playing, ran in 50 unanswered points against a flagging defence, Biggar notching up 17 points of his own.
With Biggar back at out-half after Gareth Anscombe was preferred in last week’s 9-6 win over Australia, Wales got off to a rocketing start with three tries inside the opening 12 minutes.
First came a penalty try as a rolling maul was taken down as it crashed over the Tongan line, lock Leva Fifita shown a yellow card by Australian referee Nic Berry for his role.
Wales turned the screw with Tonga down a man, Biggar on hand to crash over from close range following a neat offload by flanker Aaron Wainwright.
Sonatane Takulua at least got Tonga on the scoreboard with a penalty, but then came Wales’ third, a memorable one for British and Irish Lion Liam Williams in his 50th Test for his nation.
The Saracens wing brilliantly dotted down one-handed in the corner, launching his body airborne to avoid being tackled into touch, after fellow winger Steff Evans had combined slickly with Tomos Williams and Wainwright.
Siale Piutau then saw his try disallowed by referee Berry, whose attention had been drawn to a dubious knock-on, Biggar going on to stretch the home side’s lead with a penalty.
Giant lock Fifita made up for his yellow card when he forced his way over the line to give some hope back to the Tongans, who arrived in Cardiff on a run of seven victories in their last 11 Tests, including wins over Pacific rivals Fiji and Samoa.
Tonga hauled themselves right back into the contest when they showed their patience to go through the phases and finally usher Castres flanker Steve Mafi over the line for a well-worked second try, Takulua hitting his second conversion.
The Pacific islanders got the perfect start to the second period when No 8 Sione Vailanu picked off a Tomos Williams pass at the line-out and sprinted his considerable frame in from 40 metres.
Takulua’s extras drew Tonga level at 24-all, but there was an immediate reaction, Jake Ball breaking the defence before Biggar put in a kick-pass to Evans for a straightforward try.
Biggar added to his successful conversion with a 55th minute penalty as a raft of replacements disrupted the rhythm of the match, notably for the visitors.
Wales then pulled away as Tomos Williams went over after a sustained period of pressure and Biggar nailed the conversion before being replaced by Rhys Patchell.
Centre Tyler Morgan followed suit, thanks to Patchell’s long mispass and Owen Watkin’s offload.
As Tonga tired in defence, Cory Hill and Aled Davies were on hand to finish off multi-player moves before Patchell scythed through for a great individual try.
The last word belonged to Liam Williams, who crossed for his second in the dying seconds, with Tonga on the ropes.
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You’d have to say that Pat’s currently are the best team in the LOI & if they can win their last 3 matches then they might even nick the league.
Bohs may be the most P.C. team in football, but they’re dicing with the drop.
@Gerry Kelly: If Kenny was appointed a month earlier they’d be top.
@Comments Section Closed: still pathetic for Bohs to even contemplate finishing 9th with their set up and finances.
@An tEoghanach: we’ll finish 8th which is nowhere near good enough as you stated but that’s a sign of how competitive its been. There are no easy games in this league. Who’d of tought Dundalk would be relegated… Yes they had financial struggles but still had a squad good enough finish in a better position. Drogheda have Rovers Shels and a local derby in their remaining 3 but will win the playoff and stay up. Galway while not likely can still win the league from 5th if others slip up which just proves again how competitive its been… and with Cork coming back up, its going to be similar next year as well so everyone is going to have to get their shit together
Sligo Rovers ran rings around Derry tonight but only came away with a draw. We still have a chance to get Top 4!
C’ mon The Bit ‘O Red!!!
Why are they saying in the article about Derry City game tonight that it’s out of their hands but if my maths are right if they win their last 3 games they win it as they play Shels in the last game
The run Kenny has Pats on at the moment is something else. After the failure in the Irish job you can’t deny him as a coach he gets his players playing. Winning games there going to be contending next season. The league has been great so many teams involved with the final few games. Would love Shels to hold on but not sure if they will. They need to get a win asap. Give them some form for the remaining games
Kenny doing incredible things. Getting his reputation firmly back on track. The rest of the league will be worrying about what Pats will do next season
Tough watch in Dalyer tonight. Pats were on top but the red card was the killer blow. You could see how effectively they used the extra man to create space. It’s been a long season!