Whatever else is wrong with Welsh rugby, they’ve never lacked heart. You could hear it in Katherine Jenkins’ singing, which must have shattered windows in Aberystwyth, and feel it in the heat of the fireworks that spiralled into the bright blue sky beyond the open roof. For all their failings, the Welsh Rugby Union still know how to organise a show at the Principality Stadium. And you could see what it all meant, too, in the faces of those two old friends and teammates, Alun Wyn Jones, 37, and Ken Owens, 36, as they roared the final words of the anthem, their arms wrapped tight around each other’s shoulders.
Jones’ heart is bigger than most, so is Owens’. Between them, they’ve helped keep Welsh rugby alive despite all its problems for well over a decade now, Jones made his debut in 2006, Owens in 2011. Warren Gatland relied on them all through his first stint in charge of his team, you wonder if he’s surprised to find that he still needs them so badly now in his second.
