Posted by A young Wales flanker captaining the side, Warren Gatland leading the nation into a Rugby World Cup, the men in red being written off left, right and centre as the squad goes through a late transition.
2011 called, it wants it’s storylines back!
It even goes as far as playing England home and away pre-tournament, although on that occasion we travelled to Twickenham first, and unlike 12 years ago got the warm-ups off to a winning start as the hosts ran out 20-9 victors at the Principality Stadium.
With Steve Borthwick naming his final 33-man squad for the World Cup two days later, there was a sense that a gentleman’s agreement had been reached with Gatland ahead of time whereby this encounter would see more mixed teams take the field, before generally stronger 23s met in London seven days later.
Of course the Welsh team was always likely to have a fresh look to it with the likes of Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Rhys Webb and Jon Davies either retired, unavailable or not selected, and so it came to be that three debutants were named in a starting XV with an average age of just over 25.
That inexperience and youthful enthusiasm seemed to tell early in the game. The tactical kicking game of Sam Costelow, making his first test start at fly-half, found Freddie Steward too often and allowed England to dominate aerially and territorially, while the new prop duo of Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti found themselves on the wrong side of some scrum skulduggery from their more senior opposite numbers and the refereeing interpretation that seemed to favour those reputations.
However, despite 12 entries in to the Wales 22 in the first half, the English could not find a way through the red wall. There are considerations for defence coach Mike Forshaw around how the balance of the pack impacts how quickly his side can get around the corner on phases two and three post-set piece, but there’s no doubt the added physicality of a bigger pack held the opposition up and prevented them from getting regularly good quality front foot ball.
Even despite the pressure being on, the Welsh still managed to show glimpses of attacking invention. There was nothing expansive but enough to keep the England defence honest. Bringing Max Llewellyn short and getting Rio Dyer in to pick-and-go, having Louis Rees-Zammit on an inside shoulder off the blindside, and setting up the screen pass to allow Costelow to attack the gain line.
With a switch in the kicking game to take the ball away from Steward, the English side were being moved around a lot for very little reward, and so it told in the second half as a much fitter Wales side, assisted by some quality performances off the bench, looked in total control from the half-time break onwards.
The men in red visibly grew in confidence as the game went on, bringing out the full arsenal of cross-kicks, offloads and even ran a beautifully effective scrum-half loop that almost resulted in what would have been a spectacular Louis Rees-Zammit try.
Will Rowlands was ubiquitous on his return at lock, Jac Morgan a one-man wrecking machine, assisted by Aaron Wainwright in the back row who seemed almost omnipresent in a reassuring sight for those concerned about Taulupe Faletau’s fitness. Costelow looked assured beyond his years at 10, while George North and Leigh Halfpenny rolled back the years particularly in defence.
Nicky Smith and Henry Thomas offered a glimpse of their scrummaging power as the replacement props, Taine Plumtree solidifed his position as the most likely bolter with an all-action display, and Mason Grady continues to look the business at international level off the bench.
Overall though I expect as happy as Warren Gatland will be with the individual showings, the main focus of his pleasure will be on the team performance as a whole. The resilience and commitment to stay in the game when England were in the ascendancy during the first half, the adaptability to problem solve on the fly, and then the quality to go and win as proceedings wore on.
Next week will be a different kettle of fish as the English will turn up with a 23 much closer to their first choice after naming their RWC 33-man squad, while Wales will also name a side containing some more recognisable faces from the last two years. At Twickenham against a home side desperate to prove to their supporters and the media that they are in a good place it will be a significant challenge.
Once again though the result will be largely irrelevant for the Welsh. The focus is on maintaining the performance levels, with the bar set at a good height by the 23 that took the field on Saturday. The only result that matters for this group is the full-time score in Bordeaux on 10th September.
Cardiff Rugby Life 