Wales beat Barbarians as North signs off in style

Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Wales fly-half Dan Edwards scored two tries Tries: Koch, North 2, Nankivell, Arata Cons: Plummer 2, North Tries: Hardy, Edwards 2, Morgan-Williams, Mee Cons: Edwards 2, Costelow 2 Wales warmed up for their Nations Championship campaign with a 33-31 victory against Barbarians at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. In sweltering sunshine with temperatures reaching 32C (90F), Wales fly-half Dan Edwards scored 14 points, including two tries, while there were further scores from scrum-halves Kieran Hardy and Reuben Morgan-Williams and wing Ellis Mee. But the day belonged to Wales great George North who bowed out in style in his final game before retirement with two Barbarians tries. After coming on as a second-half replacement, North's opening try came with his first touch and he also added a conversion with the final kick of the game. Few could have imagined kicking a conversion against Wales would be his last contribution on the rugby field after such a glittering career. South Africa prop Vincent Koch, Munster centre Alex Nankivell and Uruguay scrum-half Santiago Arata also scored for the invitational side. FT Barbarians 31-33 Wales - Wales hang on but North headlines in last game Phillips emulates father to make Barbarians history Published23 hours agoWatch: Memories are made of Wales v Barbarians Published2 days agoWales had enjoyed a morale-boosting Six Nations win against Italy in March. This - uncapped - victory represented successive wins for the the first time since the 2023 World Cup but Wales know there is a lot to improve before the start of the Nations Championship. This fixture was staged outside World Rugby's official window so Wales' team was picked solely from the four domestic regions with Tandy missing 12 English and French based players. Scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins, props Nicky Smith and Rhys Carre and Louis Rees-Zammit will come back into the equation for the Nations Championship start next week when Wales face Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium. Tandy will name his squad for that tournament early next week which also includes away matches in Argentina and South Africa. Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Allianz Stadium was only a quarter full on Saturday Watching Wales play in front of so few fans at the home of English rugby was surreal. The top two tiers were closed with a sparse crowd of under 20,000 in an 82,000-capacity stadium, and a first-half "Mexican Wave" indicated the supporters were not always fully engaged. It was an uncapped international with the double-header alonsgide the women's side being played in south-west London and not in Cardiff, where heavy metal group Metallica were playing at the Principality Stadium the following day. As a rugby exercise it was worthwhile, with many Welsh players having not had a game for more than a month. Tandy's side needed this test before the Nations Championship and the Barbarians squad provided that challenge with the squad boasting 19 internationals from 11 different countries. South African double World Cup winning scrum-half Faf de Klerk captained the side and described the Baa-Baas forward pack as one of the biggest he had ever played behind. A telling assessment from somebody used to playing with the Springboks. Wales started strongly with powerful forward drives and Hardy sniped over. Cardiff lock Teddy Williams, who made a welcome return from a dislocated right foot suffered in October, failed to gather the restart. South African prop Koch forced Gareth Thomas to concede a scrum penalty and gained his reward by burrowing over for a try. Hooker Elliot Dee, left out by Tandy this summer, was the one Welsh player starting for the Barbarians and was denied a try in the left corner,. Dee's opposite number Wales captain Dewi Lake, who kept the leadership despite the return of British and Irish Lions flanker Jac Morgan from injury, had a productive opening quarter with powerful carries and a penalty turnover. Barbarians finally provided some typical flair with countless offloads following a de Klerk break but the move broke down to bring up the first water break. Wales had lacked structure since their opening try but that cohesion briefly returned with a well-worked move, with bursts from centre Joe Hawkins and man of the match Aaron Wainwright, finished off by Edwards. Scarlets back rower Taine Plumtree produced a searing break but could not claim his own kick to score while another Wales try went begging after a poor Lake pass to Wainwright. Handling mistakes were rife from both sides as Wales led by nine points at half-time with the break extended to 20 minutes because of the warm weather. Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, George North won 121 caps for Wales Wales changed their front-row trio at the start of the second half with replacement props Ben Warren and Rhys Barratt given their first Wales cha

Wales beat Barbarians as North signs off in style

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Wales beat Barbarians as North signs off in style

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