KEY POINTS:
Wales 42
Canada 17
NANTES - Wales winger Shane Williams has warned his teammates they face a Wallabies walloping if they repeat the same mistakes they committed against World Cup rugby minnows Canada.
Wales looked second best for the best part of an hour against the team ranked
five places below them in the world standings and trailed 17-9 before staging a second-half comeback to win at Stade de la Beaujoire yesterday.
Williams crossed twice as Wales scored five times in the second half but he knows they can't start so slowly in Sunday's Pool B encounter against Australia in Cardiff.
"We simply cannot start the same way against Australia otherwise the game will be over by halftime," Williams said.
"There are still a lot of things we are immature about, like our indiscipline in ridiculous areas.
"Losing 30 or 40 yards because we've given away penalties from scoring positions is just not good enough. We need to keep the ball for longer as well.
"We certainly know we can play well in patches but against the best sides in the world it will just not be good enough."
Selection for that game is now up for grabs after coach Gareth Jenkins was forced to turn to the experience among his replacements to see off Canada.
Trailing 17-9 following a third try from the Canucks, Jenkins threw on veteran campaigners Stephen Jones, Gareth Thomas and Colin Charvis and was rewarded with 33 unanswered points.
"Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas made a big impact when they came on. They've got so much experience between them so we always knew they could make an impact from the bench," Williams said.
"Stephen has more experience than James [Hook] and we felt more comfortable when he came on.
"Obviously he knew the way the game was going. Sometimes it is easier to read how a game is going from the sidelines and they brought a calmness and clarity about how we wanted to play.
"He is experienced enough to know how to beat a team like Canada. It had been one of those games that was hard to get into as a wing, with the Canadian forwards playing as well as they did.
"But Stephen slowed things up and played a lot closer to the action rather than throwing long passes. He hit big holes and he really brought guys like Tom Shanklin and Sonny Parker into the action.
"We kept our hands on the ball, kept with the game plan and scored some nice tries."
The return to fitness and form of Jones has certainly added to Jenkins' selection options ahead of the match against Australia.
Jones replaced Hook but coach Jenkins insists they have no concerns over the 22-year-old despite hauling him off just 48 minutes into his World Cup debut.
Jenkins said his team were ready to take on Australia despite admitting the Wallabies looked sharp in their opening match.
- AFP
