Warren Gatland insists England have got it easy

Wales achieved a bonus point victory over a Uruguay side made up largely of amateurs, but it was laboured and costly.

The underdogs started brightly with Felipe Berchesi handing them a 6-0 lead early on, but it didn’t last long as Allen stepped up and delivered.

Tried to get involved in Wales’ attacking game, but it was a frustrating afternoon for the Cardiff Blues man – 6.

The injuries to Liam Williams (dead leg), Paul James (calf), Dan Lydiate (unspecified but he limped off near the end) and Cory Allen (hamstring) are at the top of that list, while there were some basic skills lacking in execution.

Williams’ return to full fitness is particularly timely given the World Cup-ending knee injury suffered by Leigh Halfpenny during Wales’ final tournament warm-up fixture against Italy a fortnight ago.

Wales have been preparing for the challenge by practicing tackling the fastest members of their own group. Although Uruguay had only scraps of possession and conceded a rash of penalties, they dealt in the main with Wales’ straight-line running watched by the largest crowd any of them had appeared in front of, and were neither overawed nor overpowered. Priestland converts. “That should get you going, regardless of who you play”, he said. Priestland adds the extras.

With former world champions England and Australia in the toughest ever World Cup pool, however, Warren Gatland’s side can not afford to treat the encounter just as an opportunity to give squad players a run.

RHYS PRIESTLAND: Looked calm and assured at the heart of Wales’ tactical approach, and he kicked well, booting seven conversions – 7.

59′ – Wales 40-9 Uruguay – try: Gareth Davies snipes off the ruck to dart over for Wales’ sixth try.

Wales’ Hallam Amos fends off Uruguay’s Gaston Mieres in Cardiff.

Uruguay’s Rodrigo Silva catches a high ball under pressure from Wales’ Alex Cuthbert.

Wales’ terrible injury luck. If you are in the squad just to make the numbers up, then there is no point being here.

“Other teams are going to know the permutations before we do, so it’s about making sure we go and have a good performance on the weekend and then concentrate on that and really focus on England, that’s massive for us”, the New Zealander said.

World Cup referees’ chiefs have already underlined the firm stance that will be taken against offenders, including punishment for any players guilty of diving or similar histrionics.

Williams, who was playing his first match since undergoing an operation to fix a broken bone in his foot in June, started limping halfway through the first half against Uruguay.

“They need game time, but probably not 80 minutes”, he said.

But even the rugby-mad Welsh public filing into the Millennium Stadium on Sunday would struggle to name a Uruguayan rugby player.