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Wales and Lions legend Graham Price previews Wales’ Nations Championship campaign
13:57, 01 Jul 2026
The Nations Championship is a new competition that is intended to create more meaningful international fixtures, with every match contributing to an overall championship table.
Consequently, the result of every game will influence the final standings and I’m unsure whether this is a good thing for this Wales side at the moment.
Success will require consistency across a 12-month season rather than isolated performances, placing greater emphasis on squad depth, player management and long-term planning.
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For Wales, the Nations Championship represents a different challenge.
It is intended to be an opportunity to measure progress against the strongest opposition from both hemispheres.
I personally believe that at the moment, in our current predicament, just the usual summers tours and autumn series of friendlies would be more beneficial in serving our development needs.
While the absence of players based outside Wales may have reduced the strength of the team on paper, the Barbarians fixture provided an opportunity to hand valuable experience to several emerging players.
It also allowed the coaching team a final opportunity to broaden its player pool and build squad depth for the challenges that lie ahead during the 2026 international season.
But, this is where the serious business begins.
Championship points are at stake from the outset, leaving Wales with no opportunity to ease their way into the competition.
If Wales were hoping for a gentle introduction to the Nations Championship, they can forget it. An opening fixture against Fiji is about as demanding as it gets, particularly when you consider the selection of our team and combinations are continuing to develop and confidence is still being rebuilt.
There are easier places to begin a campaign than to face one of the world’s most unpredictable and dangerous sides.
This is not simply because of the quality of the opposition, but because of the unique challenge they present. Few teams in world rugby can turn a loose ball or a missed tackle into seven points quite as quickly as Fiji.
Wales’ opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup against Fiji was never going to be straightforward, and so it proved. In the end, a 32-26 victory was enough to get the campaign off to the perfect start, but nobody leaving the stadium believed the road ahead would be easy.
Fiji brought everything supporters have come to expect. Their running game was, as always, fearless, their off-loading instinctive and every turnover seemed capable of producing a try from somewhere nobody expected. When they found space, they looked capable of scoring from virtually anywhere on the field.
However, Fiji have long since moved beyond the stereotype of simply producing dazzling runners. In recent years they have added greater discipline, structure and physicality to complement their natural attacking instincts. Any team that underestimates them usually pays a heavy price.
Fiji threw everything at Wales in search of a dramatic finish and if we had lost the game we couldn’t have complained.
The encouraging news for the coaching staff is the return of players who were unavailable for the Barbarians game. That added experience should bring greater control to key positions, particularly at half-back and in the pack, where Wales must establish a platform before they can think about playing expansively.
This game promises to be an entertaining contest between contrasting rugby philosophies.
The battle up front could prove decisive. Wales will look to establish control through the set pieces and an intelligent and accurate kicking game, denying Fiji the loose, broken-field rugby they relish.
If Wales can win the territorial contest and control the tempo, they have every chance of frustrating one of the game’s most exciting attacking teams.
Stopping Fiji starts with denying them opportunities. Wales cannot afford loose kicks, speculative offloads or unnecessary penalties.
Fiji thrive on turnover ball and broken-field rugby, and once their dangerous runners gather momentum they are among the most difficult sides in the world to contain.
Wales will hope organisation, patience and accurate execution can overcome Fiji’s flair and unpredictability.
But it is important for us not to deviate from our gameplan and fall into the trap of playing Fiji at their own game. This could prove to be disastrous.
Equally important will be Wales’ discipline. Giving Fiji repeated opportunities through penalties is asking for trouble, as their pace and power can punish even the smallest defensive mistake.
This match will, also, be an early test of Wales’ progress.
Recent seasons have been very challenging, but a disciplined performance and a positive result against Fiji would not only provide an ideal, confidence-boosting start to a demanding new international competition but also offer further evidence that this young Wales side is moving in the right direction.
Graham Price’s Wales team to face Fiji: Louis Rees-Zammit; Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Joe Hawkins, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carré, Dewi Lake, Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Jac Morgan, Aaron Wainwright. Replacements: Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Ben Warren, Teddy Williams, James Botham, Kieran Hardy, Sam Costelow, Blair Murray.
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