A second string Wales took to the field in a bright yellow strip. Sadly this was about the only bright thing they did during the match. Wales were abysmal in the first half. Hook got injured early and Dan Biggar came on for his first cap. A good crowd of 59,000 were expecting some open free flowing rugby. Instead they got a turgid, stuttering display. Canada defended well and it took Wales 30 minutes to score the opening try through Stoddart. On the stroke of half time the ball found it's way to Halfpenny and he dazzled and danced to beat his opposite number and score his first international try.
The second half saw a slight improvement as the forwards finally upped their game. Andy Powell came on to replace Ryan Jones. The Wales captain has been in poor form this season. It looks like Powell could be playing no.8 for Wales for the 6 Nations. If Jones' form carries on he'll struggle to get selected for the Lions tour.
The pack earned two penalty tries from 5 metre scrums but still the back line was not firing. It took till the last move of the game to see some decent Welsh play. Jamie Roberts made a telling break, passed to Peel who flicked onto Halfpenny for an excellent team try. Why couldn't Wales play like that much earlier? Some credit must be paid to Canada. Thier no.7 Kleeburger was impressive throughout.
There was a good banner held up by some fans in the crowd: "Even in a credit crunch Halfpenny goes a long way"
Man of the match: Dafydd Jones.
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