Wainwright savours Wales win at Cardiff City Stadium he never graced as a footballer

Aaron Wainwright scored a sentimental victory at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday as Wales opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 39-24 win over Fiji — at a ground the back-row forward once dreamed of playing on as a teenager in the Cardiff City academy.

It was the first time Wales had staged a Test match at the Sky Bet Championship ground, with Fiji serving as the official hosts after moving their Nations Championship fixtures to the northern hemisphere. For Wainwright, now 28 and recently joined Leicester, the occasion carried an extra layer of meaning.

“I never got the chance to play here,” said Wainwright, who was released by Cardiff City at 16 after progressing through the club’s age-group sides as a defensive midfielder. “We had training sessions on here as kids and I did many a team photo shoot through the age groups before the coaches decided to drop me. Villa Park was probably the biggest stadium I played in football-wise — Under-14s or Under-15s against Aston Villa — but never here. It was a great occasion. The fans made loads of noise and I really enjoyed it.”

Wales had to weather an early storm from Fiji’s powerful forwards and elusive backs before asserting control and pulling clear on the scoreboard. The six tries they ran in represented their highest try tally in a Test match since November 2021, following earlier wins over Italy in the Six Nations and last week’s uncapped fixture against the Barbarians — a third consecutive victory for Steve Tandy’s side.

Wainwright was candid about the journey that has brought Wales to this point. “I remember speaking when we were going through that poor run of form and the losses were adding up,” he said. “We had guys coming into the team with not much international experience. I think we’ve ridden that wave or come out the other end of that losing streak. You can start to see the combinations forming and the boys are more confident out on the pitch and know what to expect from one another.”

Wales now travel to Argentina for their second Nations Championship fixture in San Juan, where Wainwright made his international debut in 2018, coming off the bench in a 23-10 victory over the Pumas at Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario.

“My dad made the journey out for my first cap and I spoke to him about potentially coming out again,” Wainwright said. “I don’t think he fancies that this time around with how far the travel is, but I’m excited to go back and revisit. It was a very hostile crowd last time with all the fencing stopping the fans getting on the pitch — that’s what I remember, and the guys who haven’t been before can look forward to that.”