Morgan double helps Wales beat Fiji in Nations Championship opener

Wales claimed a bonus-point victory in the Nations Championship after running in six tries at the Cardiff City Stadium; Fiji are playing games in the northern hemisphere during July; Wales face Argentina next while Fiji take on England

>Jac Morgan scored two tries as Wales opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 39-24 victory over Fiji in Cardiff.

>After soaking up an early Fijian bombardment, tries from Morgan (two), Rhys Carre, Josh Adams, Ryan Elias and Eddie James secured a bonus point for Wales, with Dan Edwards and Sam Costelow adding nine points with the boot.

>Fiji crossed three times through Pita-Gus Sowakula, Elia Canakaivata and Selestino Ravutaumada, and Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula kicked nine points in what was an entertaining spectacle.

>The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by a players' pay dispute which was only settled by the Welsh Rugby Union on Wednesday, while the match was played in front of a low crowd of 16,456 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

>Fiji - ninth in the world rankings and two places higher than Wales - were officially the hosts as World Rugby had sanctioned switching their home games in the new competition to the northern hemisphere.

>Wales had won 12 of the 15 contests between the two nations, with one draw, but Fiji had claimed their first-ever victory in Cardiff at Principality Stadium in November 2024.

>In earlier matches on Saturday, New Zealand edged France 34-32 in Christchurch and Japan beat Italy 27-10 in Tokyo, while Andy Farrell's injury-ravaged Ireland secured a 33-31 victory over Australia in Sydney.

>World Rugby bills the 12-team Nations Championship as North vs. South. The tournament has two conferences, the southern - in which northern teams are scheduled to travel south in July - and the northern - when southern teams will travel north in November.

>Fiji are next in action against England next Saturday (2.10pm start) at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton's home ground, while Wales travel to play Argentina the same day (8.10pm start).

>Six rounds of matches will lead to a finals series in London in late November, which World Rugby says will identify the best team in the world.