RWC 2015: Nation enjoys Wales’ divine win over England as karaoke kicks in on bus home
Wales opted to make the 130-mile journey from Twickenham back to the Vale Hotel in Hensol during the early hours of Sunday morning, arriving around 3am
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Your support makes all the difference.Shaun Edwards enjoyed Sunday Mass with a difference yesterday as the feelgood factor generated by Wales’ stunning World Cup win against England on Saturday night swept through the nation.
“We are all delighted,” Wales assistant coach Edwards said, following the 28-25 victory. “I went to Mass this morning, and even the priest came out and put his hands up in the air to celebrate. That is when you know you are making a difference to the nation.
“It’s a church round the corner [from Wales’ training base]. My mum’s brother is a priest, and I was an altar boy until I was 21. I was captaining Wigan, and I was still an altar boy!”
Wales opted to make the 130-mile journey from Twickenham back to the Vale Hotel in Hensol during the early hours of Sunday morning, arriving around 3am. Head coach Warren Gatland has now given his players a couple of days off as the squad recharge their batteries – and try to mend their broken bodies – before building towards another huge World Cup confrontation against Fiji in Cardiff on Thursday.
“The players were restrained [on the bus] with Thursday coming up, but the management were quite lively, I’ve got to say,” Edwards added. “Particularly Paul Stridgeon [Wales’ head of physical performance], who was at the front of the bus singing away and trying to do his own karaoke piece. It was a memorable trip home.
“A lot of the players live close by, and it’s a big advantage for us for them to go home for a night or two to be with their families and come back refreshed.”
And reflecting on the Twickemham triumph, Wales wing George North said: “The M4 is never a nice place, but when you win like that, coming home is something special. How many times in your career will you be able to say you beat the [World Cup] host nation in their back garden?
“It’s brilliant for us. As soon as we got on the bus we enjoyed the trip back, but all the boys started to focus on the task in hand, the short turnaround and making sure everyone is fit and well for Fiji on Thursday.”
Scott Williams, with a knee injury, and winger Hallam Amos, who hurt his shoulder, are the most pressing concerns for Wales but Liam Williams is also a doubt after he took a blow to the head. Wales are to announce their team to face Fiji tomorrow so the medics will be busy today.
However, Edwards does not anticipate wholesale changes, even though they finished the game with a fly-half at fullback, a wing at center, and a scrum-half on the wing.
“I don’t think we will be resting too many players, but obviously that’s down to the boss,” he said. “One thing you find out about Welsh teams, or any rugby team to be honest, is that when you get some momentum, you want to keep that momentum going.
“We do have quite a long turnaround between the Fiji game and the Australia game [nine days], so the boys will get rested next weekend. So we will be putting out a pretty strong team against Fiji, showing them the respect they deserve after they have played so well so far in the competition.
“The job [of advancing from Pool A] is only half done. We are still not definitely through even if we get the job done against Fiji on Thursday. We didn’t come into this competition after the bitterness from 2011 [of falling in the semi-finals), just to beat England. We came to go as far as we can.”
Alun Wyn Jones, the lock, was singing from the same hymn sheet on Saturday night when asked if the Welsh would consider the job done.
“That’s the danger,” he said. “But within the four walls of the changing room, we are well aware of what we have to do and keep doing. We came under pressure in the first half and will come under pressure again.
“I played in 2007 [in the match Wales lost to Fiji] so I know how dangerous they can be at a World Cup. We have to be on our guard as there is the potential for an upset. We know what they can do if you don’t respect them.”
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