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Warren Gatland reflected on an \u201cincredibly special\u201d occasion as Welsh rugby said farewell to three of its biggest names in the sport\u2019s professional era.<\/p>\n
Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Leigh Halfpenny, who won 352 caps between them, enjoyed a fitting send-off from international rugby as Wales beat the Barbarians 49-26 in Cardiff.<\/p>\n
A crowd of 53,000 roared its approval, with a prolonged standing ovation afforded to Halfpenny when he went off 13 minutes from time proving particularly memorable.<\/p>\n
Billed as a tribute match, all three players played their part, with Wales full-back Halfpenny contributing five conversions, while official player-of-the-match Jones scored a try and captained a Barbarians side that saw flanker Tipuric among his team-mates.<\/p>\n
Halfpenny is now set for a move to the southern hemisphere, with Super Rugby heavyweights the Crusaders his likely destination, while Jones is currently with French club Toulon and Tipuric remains a key figure in Ospreys colours.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the three of them, to have that game here in the stadium was incredibly special,\u201d Wales head coach Gatland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the crowd were amazing in recognising that as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought \u2018Tips\u2019 played well today, he caused us a few problems at the breakdown. I said that to him afterwards and he said \u2018there\u2019s still life in the old boy yet\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAl (Jones) as well. It was an entertaining game, and in fairness to them they put us under some pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about leaving Leigh on for 80 minutes, but then there was an opportunity to bring him off. I thought the ovation he got is testament to him not just as a rugby player, but as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
First-half tries by hooker Dewi Lake, wing Tom Rogers and fly-half Sam Costelow gave Wales a flying start in their final match before a Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 3.<\/p>\n
But Fijian scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli scored two Barbarians tries, and when Jones crossed early in the second period, Wales led by just two points, with Nicolas Sanchez adding a conversion double.<\/p>\n
Replacements Taine Plumtree, Aaron Wainwright and Kieran Hardy (2) claimed second-half touchdowns for Wales, though, with Halfpenny and Cai Evans each adding two conversions, with Barbarians flanker Tom Hooper also scoring a try, converted by Ben Donaldson.<\/p>\n
Gatland added: \u201cTo score 49 points, you\u2019ve got to be pretty happy. We probably left a few out there in the first-half, with some of the opportunities we created.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe scrummaged well, the lineout was outstanding today \u2013 both defensively and on attack. As the game went on, we grew into it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times where I thought we defended well and didn\u2019t give them opportunities. But there were also times when we came under some pressure with their off-loading game, and we were stressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased where we are, I am pleased with this group of players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are setting standards and expectations on ourselves in terms of what we expect as a team going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know this next Six Nations will be a challenge, but if you keep working hard and keep believing, we are capable of doing things and winning matches. We showed that in the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n