{"id":287827,"date":"2023-09-07T07:34:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T07:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=287827"},"modified":"2023-09-07T07:34:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T07:34:49","slug":"wales-face-judgment-time-and-sweltering-heat-against-fiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-face-judgment-time-and-sweltering-heat-against-fiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales face &apos;judgment time&apos; and sweltering heat against Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Wales warned they face &#8216;judgment time&#8217; and sweltering heat against old foes Fiji in crunch Rugby World Cup opener&#8230;as Warren Gatland ponders big selection calls<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wales open their Rugby World Cup against Fiji on Sunday night<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Fiji have lost fly-half Caleb Muntz to a knee injury on the eve of the tournament<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wales are set for \u2018judgement time\u2019 in their World Cup opener with Fiji but the news their Pacific Island opposition have lost their star fly-half has handed Warren Gatland\u2019s side an advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Gatland and his fully fit squad of 33 players will swap the sweltering heat of Versailles on the outskirts of Paris for the equally hot Bordeaux on Thursday and will travel by train.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is in Bordeaux that they will take on their old enemy Fiji \u2013 a side they have played in the pool matches of every global showpiece since their infamous 2007 defeat in Nantes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have been working for 16 weeks towards a goal which is this game,\u2019 said Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are well aware this is judgement time for us. We feel we are pretty well prepared and we know what&#8217;s coming.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154219-0-image-a-1_1694065559095.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Every player in Warren Gatland&#8217;s 33-man squad is fully fit ahead of the Rugby World Cup<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154419-0-image-a-2_1694065622566.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys has warned Wales face &#8216;judgment time&#8217; against Fiji<\/p>\n<p>Wales have spent the last two weeks narrowing their focus on Fiji. They have a well-rehearsed plan, but things changed significantly yesterday with news from the opposition camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Caleb Muntz is just 23 and only made his Fiji debut this year.<\/p>\n<p>But the news he has been ruled out of the entire World Cup by a knee injury suffered in training has rocked Simon Raiwalui\u2019s men.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018On Monday, Caleb sustained a knee injury in a non-contact session and is out of the World Cup,\u2019 Fiji head coach Raiwalu said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s devastating for us as a group and for Caleb. He has worked so hard for the past two years with the Fijian Drua and for Flying Fijians. We feel for him. As a young man he misses the opportunity so close to the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have got 33 players and we have the utmost confidence in them. Once we name the team for the match against Wales we will have utmost faith in whom we have selected.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fiji \u2013 winners over England at Twickenham last month \u2013 had come into this tournament in sweltering France as a side widely seen as one capable of shaking up the established order.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Raiwalu understandably emphasised his faith in the other members of his squad. Wales also downplayed the impact of Muntz\u2019s absence, but the brutal truth is that the player\u2019s injury is good news for Gatland\u2019s team and a hammer blow for Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154221-0-image-a-3_1694065742443.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fiji will be full of confidence after beating England at Twickenham last month<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154251-0-image-a-4_1694065800742.jpg\" height=\"414\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>But they have been rocked by news that fly-half Caleb Muntz has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury he sustained on Wednesday\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Teti Tela is now close to certain to start at No 10 for Fiji in Bordeaux. Ben Volavola, 32, missed out on Fiji\u2019s initial World Cup squad but can now surely expect a call-up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Volavola has just joined Agen as a replacement for Elton Jantjies after his positive drugs test so is in France already. Muntz\u2019s injury also robs Fiji of a reliable goal kicker against Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Relentless \u2013 that\u2019s what we have trained to be,\u2019 Humphreys said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Everybody is a bit on edge but in a good way. It\u2019s been a long time getting here.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So it has. Wales will name their team for Fiji today when they arrive in Bordeaux, where temperatures \u2013 like in Versailles \u2013 are in the mid-thirties.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154413-0-image-a-5_1694065906764.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Dan Biggar is expected to start at fly-half against Fiji on Sunday night in Bordeaux<\/p>\n<p>Wales\u2019 last training session in Versailles last night was designed to mimic to a degree the evening kick-off in Bordeaux. Night-time temperatures are still sweltering here. Gatland has insisted he has everyone available to face Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In last night\u2019s session, hooker and co-captain Dewi Lake warmed up separately to the main group and Tommy Reffell was not present initially. Gatland faces his big selection calls at scrum-half, inside centre, blindside flanker and prop.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nick Tompkins and Johnny Williams are contenders for a centre berth alongside George North while there is a decision to be made between Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams as starting No 9. Davies has trained at scrum-half this week alongside Taulupe Faletau and Dan Biggar who are likely to begin at No 8 and fly-half respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Davies and Williams are the only two scrum-halves in the Wales squad so both will be involved, but the former\u2019s kicking game might earn him the nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/06\/75154481-0-image-a-6_1694066006753.jpg\" height=\"447\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Johnny Williams is a contender for a centre berth alongside George North<\/p>\n<p>There is a feeling Williams may be able to provide a bigger impact from the bench when Wales hope their strong fitness will have tired Fiji out in the Bordeaux heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018What\u2019s really positive about this group at the moment is there\u2019s going to be a few disappointed players. There\u2019s lots of options for us. You want tough calls,\u2019 Gatland said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You don\u2019t want to be able to quickly pick your 15 or 23. You want to have robust debate in the coaching group about what you think the best combination should be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That\u2019s definitely going to happen.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12490515\/Wales-Fiji-Rugby-World-Cup-Warren-Gatland.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Wales warned they face &#8216;judgment time&#8217; and sweltering heat against old foes Fiji in crunch Rugby World Cup opener&#8230;as Warren Gatland ponders big selection calls <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-face-judgment-time-and-sweltering-heat-against-fiji\/\" title=\"Wales face &amp;apos;judgment time&amp;apos; and sweltering heat against Fiji\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Wales face &amp;apos;judgment time&amp;apos; 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