Wales used to be the masters of the drop goal. A method of scoring that has become an endangered species accounted for more than one-quarter of Barry John’s points tally for his country. In one club match for Cardiff, when two of Llanelli’s back-row forwards were his brothers who had threatened all sorts if they got hold of him, the game’s greatest fly-half barely made a break or passed all match, but his four drop kicks delivered a 12-9 victory.
Before Sunday’s effective group decider against Australia, it had been 35 internationals since Wales had scored with a drop goal. It was through necessity then, the fly-half Sam Davies winning the 2016 game against Japan in Cardiff with three points seconds from full time, but here it was a tactic that won a game in which Wales were outscored by three tries to two.
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