ANYONE who turned up expecting a thriller would have first been horribly ignorant and then very disappointed.

After such a short turnaround there would've been no Welsh benefit to play an open game.

An expansive game might've seen Fiji sneak a win.

A tight game guaranteed a Welsh one.

The bonus point was the only thing it may have brought, but having won against England on Saturday the win was the priority.

A win they got, and aside from a spell of second half resurgence from Fiji it was comfortable one.

Usually the Welsh management may have piled into John Lacey's abject performance, but the tragic inconsistency of the Irishman's refereeing meant the game was slowed down even further than the snail-pace we witnessed - which all suited Warren Gatland's men

As routine as it was, there are a few chinks in the armour which will need to be fixed if they are to lift their hoodoo against the Australians Saturday week.

The scrum spent most of the evening in reverse, the driving maul bore no fruit and they missed more than a fifth of their tackles.

Gethin Jenkins, Scott Baldwin and Tomas Francis' scrum was dismantled again by a relatively inexperienced Fiji pack.

Against England, the trio could've bemoaned Joe Marler's illegal angles, but this time they were just straight-up dominated.

Historically Australia's scrum has never been strong.

That's not the case any more.

If Wales are to buck the trend of Wallaby wins they will have to address it.

Paul James could be fit in a week's time and Tomas Francis might find himself on the bench as Samson Lee regains match fitness.

The other half of the set-piece - the lineout - functioned nicely only to run into problems once the ball game to the floor.

Not one driving maul resulted in a try and that included two 12-man attempts.

Australia's only weakness is their second rowers, which should see Wales gain supremacy in that area.

If they don't make use of that advantage, they'll struggle to take that elusive Wallaby scalp.

Fiji's tactics at the breakdown aren't subtle.

They throw everyone they can into the ruck and it slowed Welsh ball.

Nevertheless, Wales were able to control the game with 59% of possession and 67% territory.

Should they have done more with it? Probably.

But to turn-around in four days and play a test match of this physicality really took it out of Wales.

This Warren Gatland side are never tired.

Qatar, Switzerland, Poland and cryogenic chambers have seen his players become some of the fittest players on the planet, but not even they could sustain Saturday's levels of quality.

This was probably the reason for so many missed tackles and the plethora of handling errors.

Missing out on the bonus point could well be telling at the end of the group stages especially as England bagged theirs on the opening night.

But Wales left everything out on that field.

It was efficient and without being spectacular.

It wasn't ruthless but certainly wasn't toothless.

It was one step closer to the promised land of knock-out rugby where it would all start again.

PLAYER RATINGS by Gareth Davies at Millennium Stadium

Matthew Morgan: Made Fijian defenders look like they were trying to pluck a goldfish out of a pond wearing boxing gloves as he notched up 132m with some dazzling runs. 8

Alex Cuthbert: Desperately low on confidence and simple drop led to Fiji try. 3

Tyler Morgan: Looked understandably nervous and wasn't able to show his running ability in a cagey game. 5

Jamie Roberts: Slipped off a number of tackles which is very unlike him but carried like an ox which is very like him. 6

George North: Great start with a run to set up the first try but faded as the game went on. 7

Dan Biggar: Made 13 tackles and was faultless again off the tee as he continues to grow in stature. 8

Gareth Davies: Has a knack of scoring tries and controlled tempo nicely. 7

Gethin Jenkins: Struggled in the scrum but more than made up for it in the loose despite some defensive lapses. 6

Scott Baldwin: Better performance in the lineout and made 10 strong carries. 6

Tomas Francis: Struggled again in the scrum and will be looking over his shoulder at a resurgent Samson Lee. 4

Bradley Davies: Bloodied and battered thanks to a gritty performance making some big choke tackles. 7

Alun Wyn Jones: Eight tackles, 10 carries and majestic in the line in another trademark performance. 7

Dan Lydiate: Tight game suited him nicely and made nine carries to go with his 13 tackles. 7

Sam Warburton: Admitted feeling exhausted but didn't show it with 14 tackles and some big carries. 7

Taulupe Faletau: To play that well behind a scrum going backwards so quickly is astonishing and made 15 tackles to go with his 12 carries. 8