Bateman rallies Welsh to rout Romania

Allan Bateman, at 36 the oldest centre in international rugby, helped pull Wales out of a mess last night on the way to a 81-9 victory against one of the most impoverished teams in Europe.

As enthusiastic as ever after almost 20 seasons, the old Lion struck seven minutes into the second half as his team produced a flurry of tries in response to a shock early deficit against Romania. Graham Henry?s makeshift team fell behind to two penalties before offering a paltry Cardiff crowd of 20,000 the belated reward of three tries before half-time.

Alarmingly, it took Wales the best part of half an hour to recover from their early uncertainty. Once Lions wing Dafydd James had broken the ice, Llanelli lock Chris Wyatt and Swansea flanker Colin Charvis followed suit to ease Wales 27-9 clear at half-time. Considering the state of their opponents, it was hardly enough to raise the roof on the enclosed Millennium Stadium. The Romanians arrived with barely half a team. Six had been refused release by their French clubs, three more had been left behind as a disciplinary measure and another imprisoned back in Bucharest on a charge of murdering his wife.

But the visitors? presence alone was enough to evoke memories of humiliating defeats on either side of the Iron Curtain during the Eighties.

The stage had been set for 19-year-old Gavin Henson to bring some meaning to a match arranged as a warm-up for next month?s Six Nations assignment against Ireland. Instead the Swansea teenager failed to negotiate the opening 20 minutes, a bruising collision with his opposite number, Ionut Tofan, forcing him into an early exit.

After Bateman?s intervention, Wales, at last in full control, began to run riot. James claimed his second try, courtesy of the video referee, and Charvis rounded off a 29-minute hat-trick.