For the third time in 12 years Wales have beaten England in Cardiff in a World Cup warm-up. It may not count for a huge amount by the time the big show kicks off in France next month but Warren Gatland and his players will feast on this performance as if it were the finest foie gras. England could have no complaints and their final 33-man squad for the upcoming tournament may well reflect that stark truth.
Clearly these remain early days but almost all the vim, vigour and verve came from the hosts. Second-half tries from the experienced Gareth Davies and George North duly put the tin lid on a deflating and concerning evening for Steve Borthwick’s side. Where was the freshness and bounce of a team visibly on the up? Most of it was to be found clad in red jerseys, vindicating Gatland’s pre-match insistence that something tasty was brewing.
England certainly had no one with the craft and intelligence of the Welsh back-rowers Jac Morgan and Aaron Wainwright, nor the enthusiasm of Louis Rees-Zammit who came very close to registering a third home try in the closing moments. The margin could easily have been wider, with England looking mediocre at best. If it is a similar story in Saturday’s return fixture at Twickenham, World Cup alarm bells really will start ringing.
There simply has to be more to English rugby than box kicks and almost nil ambition. The lineout also creaked sufficiently to raise renewed questions about England’s back-up options. Behind the scrum Joe Marchant looked lively, Freddie Steward was busy and Marcus Smith tried to make something happen but sustained collective dynamism was, at best, fleeting.
Maybe this experience will give all concerned a valuable jolt. At no stage did it resemble a totally meaningless summer friendly. The weather outside was soggy and the roof was shut, ensuring a claustrophobic feel. Plenty of people were in town to watch Tom Jones in concert at Cardiff Castle but, equally, there were no shortage of fans in replica rugby jerseys hoping the Principality Stadium support act would generate a half decent gig.
Those craving massive first-half shocks, sadly, would have been better off buying a cinema ticket to watch Meg 2. England’s new attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, in fairness, had not oversold his side’s ambitions before kick-off. “I’m not sure that something’s going to jump out at you and you go ‘Oh my God’,” he replied, when asked if England supporters would spot a huge difference in ethos. He clearly knew what was coming.
Wales had been hoping for something more immediately striking. Their new midfield pairing of George North and Max Llewellyn, son of the former international lock Gareth, weigh a collective 212kg between them, enough to pack a hefty punch. All they needed was some ball, placing an onus on debutant props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti to look immediately at home in the Test arena.
The early scrums, unfortunately, were messy and resulted only in two penalties for Smith inside the first 14 minutes. Wales had already lost their starting hooker Ryan Elias to injury and were grateful for a relieving penalty from Leigh Halfpenny, winning his 100th Welsh cap. Respect for Halfpenny, who made his debut aged 18 in 2008, extends far beyond his native land and his bravery under the high ball remains as reliable as his goal kicking.
Space, though, was at a premium and for a while Wales’s most fruitful tactic involved kicking high balls in the direction of an uncertain Joe Cokanasiga. This was a game in which the big wing needed to make a few waves. With competition intense in the back five, it could be his World Cup prospects have sunk instead.
Instead it was his direct opponent Rees-Zammit who looked the sharper, the Gloucester man slicing through only to be tap-tackled with the line open. Wales still came away with a penalty which tied the scores at 6-6 but it could easily have been worse for the visitors. Having spent big chunks of their summer training in Switzerland and Turkey, there was little visibly wrong with Wales’s fitness.
England needed a response and Marchant, their most eye-catching back in the early exchanges, again waltzed into a gap in the home 22. Where England were struggling, though, was in the all-important red zone. Cokanasiga could not muscle his way over in the left corner and the ensuing lineout was overthrown. Even in the first week in August, the basics are non negotiable.
With another lineout resulting in a Wales free-kick prior to Smith’s third penalty goal on the stroke of half-time, the message from the English management at the interval would have been straightforward. Cut out the errors, put some more pressure on the opposition and wait for them to crack.
So much for the theory. Wales were comfortably the more inventive side and, from a crossfield kick, Wainwright cleverly offloaded to his captain Morgan. The flanker galloped 20 metres past a static Cokanasiga before feeding Davies for the first try of a previously mundane afternoon. When North also crashed over in the third quarter to reward some sustained Welsh pressure, it felt like game over. In the Six Nations in February, England won 20-10 in Cardiff. It was viewed at the time as a sign of English progress and Welsh fragility. Those roles have now been abruptly reversed.
