Luke Charteris would find contentment in Wales' victory over Tonga last night, even if he was left looking for a third try late in the second half.
The lock forward had returned to national duty when he came off the bench against South Africa and Argentina earlier this month and won his 43rd cap from the start against the Tongans.
It was a result which came on the back of a thumping victory over Argentina last weekend but which still felt less convincing. Wales have a poor recent record when it comes to their annual Friday night November fixture - losing 26-19 to Samoa last year and drawing 16-16 with Fiji in 2010. They were at least left a little happier with a 10-point victory here.
First-half tries from centres Owen Williams and Ashley Beck, plus seven points from the boot of Leigh Halfpenny had helped Wales to a 17-0 lead. Tonga hit back by scoring with a try from wing Will Helu and a conversion by Latiume Fosita before half-time, with neither side adding to their tally after the interval.
However, George North barged his way over with 10 minutes to go only for an off-the-ball block by Charteris to be picked up by the video referee and the score was ruled out. "It was pretty ugly out there," said Charteris afterwards. "We knew coming into this game how good a side Tonga were. We saw them last week against France and we knew they were going to keep us under pressure."
Despite being unable to add to their lead after the break, Charteris was looking at the positives of the performance. "We got a win which is the first time on a Friday in a while, which is nice," he said, before acknowledging that the Welsh should really have added to their score despite his infraction. "We should have had two [tries] there."
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