How much should be read into results on the opening day of any season? Hard to say.
But the assumption is everyone wants to open well and show signs of promise for the rest of the campaign. On Saturday, three Welsh regions were able to reflect to a differing degree on positives in their United Rugby Championship games.
The fourth, the Dragons, will not have found many from their 44-6 thrashing at the hands of Edinburgh. The ground didn’t open up and swallow any of their players, perhaps. Beyond that, there was little to be pleased about.
Read more: Ken Owens set for offer and plan to 'manage' Taulupe Faletau is revealed
Anyway, here are the Welsh rugby winners and losers from the weekend:
WINNERS
Taulupe Faletau
Great debuts stick in the mind, so it’s easy to recall the former cricketer Matthew Maynard putting together a majestic century in his first game for Glamorgan in 1985, reached with three successive sixes.
Then there was Scott Gibbs marking his maiden start for Swansea with a try hat-trick against Cardiff, a scoring feat matched by Iestyn Harris on his first full appearance for Cardiff, against Glasgow in 2001.
Harris’ bow as a starter after arriving from rugby league remains a personal favourite. Thirty-metre passes were flicked out off either hand, defences were bewitched from first-phase, opportunities were taken. It was as if he had arrived from another planet rather than the 13-a-side code. Glasgow could barely fathom what was happening. The Guardian called his show “cotton-wool, fluffy-cloud perfect”.
There were no outrageous scoring feats from Taulupe Faletau to decorate his opening match for Cardiff, but his performance against Munster at the Arms Park deserves to be classed among Welsh rugby's finest first-day club efforts.
There were 17 carries, many of them taking him past defenders who were defeated by his quick feet and refusal to yield when tackles came in, with the Wales international invariably making a metre or three post-contact.
Opposition ball was turned over, notably at the very end with Munster attacking dangerously as they searched for the converted try that would have secured them an undeserved draw. Improbable tackles were pulled off, while Faletau also put in several kicks, one to clear from deep and another a deft stab forward in attack.
His ex-Wales team-mate James Hook was impressed, saying on BBC's Scrum V programme: “He was incredible — a great signing for Cardiff." Hook wasn’t exaggerating.
Pontypool RFC
The early signs are that there’s a bulldozer working its way through the Admirable Welsh Championship. Coloured red, black and white? Pontypool RFC, then.
They started the campaign with a 50-3 victory on the road against Maesteg Harlequins and in round two they pounded Cross Keys 56-7.
The late Eddie Butler, who captained Pooler to two Welsh titles in the 1980s, would have been proud after Saturday’s triumph at Pandy Park. Before the game there was a two-minute silence in memory of Butler, the Queen, former Keys lock Ray Gladwyn and loyal Keys supporter Lionel Horler.
And then the action started, with Pooler paying further tribute to Butler as they ran in seven tries.
They are looking particularly strong this term. This weekend's home match with Neath should be something to see.
Callum Sheedy
He didn’t tour with Wales in the summer, but Callum Sheedy enjoyed a red-letter day as Bristol Bears defeated Wasps in the second round of the Gallagher Premiership.
The fly-half helped himself to 18 points and went through the card in his team’s 23-8 away triumph. Only one other player for Bristol, Henry Honiball in 2000, had claimed a full house in a Premiership game.
The day was also notable for Sheedy as he moved beyond 1,000 points for the Ashton Gate club, becoming only the eighth player to do so.
Bristol had signed AJ MacGinty on a three-year contract with the assumption being that he wasn’t being brought in to sit on the bench. But Sheedy has responded.
“Rising to the challenge to be the premier 10 at the club,” as our sistle title BristolLive put it.
Max Llewellyn
There has been much talk of other young centres in Wales such as Joe Hawkins, Mason Grady and Joe Roberts, but on the evidence of Max Llewellyn’s effort for Cardiff against Munster, he will be worth keeping tabs on as well.
The 6ft 5in, 16st 7lb youngster is a dead ringer for his dad, the former Wales captain Gareth Llewellyn. But he didn’t follow his father into the second row, instead preferring to tread a different path behind the scrum.
He is settling well at senior level, with Cardiff bringing him along nicely, allowing him to develop physically and not moving him along too quickly.
Starting ahead of Willis Halaholo - who made a statement himself by appearing off the bench and setting up a try - Llewellyn junior made the most of his opportunity. There was an early try, effective running and sleight of hand, with the youngster also sighted at breakdowns. He quite looked the part.
Johnny Williams and Sione Kalamafoni
Williams and Kalamafoni were the Scarlets' two best players on the day in the 23-23 draw against the Ospreys in Llanelli, with official man-of-the-match Sam Costelow not far behind.
Williams was outstanding as he scored a try and tested the visitors’ appetite for defence almost every time he received the ball. He was aggressive and purposeful and arguably the top-performing centre among the Welsh professional sides at the weekend, notwithstanding the admirable efforts of Max Llewellyn and the consistently strong Rey Lee-Lo.
Kalamafoni’s late yellow card and concession of a penalty proved costly to the Scarlets as the Ospreys went on to tie the scores with a converted try, but the home team’s No. 8 had previously proven a mighty figure.
Once, the legendary Western Mail journalist John Billot contended, the true test of courage on a rugby field was to stand beneath a high ball at The Park with the Pontypool forwards advancing like hounds from hell. Today, it might be to try to tackle Kalamafoni head-on.
Scott Baldwin did it once and, to his credit, didn’t flinch, even if the big man powered through. With his relentless carrying, Kalamafoni is a huge asset.
Jack Walsh
It was a strange old day for the Ospreys, who started with a bang but failed to capitalise fully when they were on top and ended up needing a final-seconds converted try to achieve parity against the Scarlets.
Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and Scott Baldwin did well for them, along with Jac Morgan and Justin Tipuric, who was making his first competitive appearance after his scapula injury in June of last year.
But all the good work of those players would have been for nothing had it not been replacement fly-half Jack Walsh on his league debut. There were jeers from a section of the crowd as the 22-year-old attempted his late, late conversion to square the game. It could easily have fazed the youngster.
But Walsh was raised in Australia and appears mentally tough. The kick was on the right-hand side of the field, not ideal for a right-footed kicker, and five metres from the touchline, but he calmly sent the ball between the posts. It spoke volumes for his temperament.
“He has a bit of Aussie brashness about him,” laughed Ospreys head coach Toby Booth. “The boys like him. He’s fitted in well.”
Ospreys supporters will be quite keen on him as well after Saturday.
Courtney Keight
Wales wing Courtney Keight is proving her worth at Bristol Bears despite not being involved in the national set-up so far post-Six Nations. On Saturday, she captained Bristol to an eight-try 48-7 win at home against Sale Sharks in the opening round of the Allianz Cup.
Keight was among the try scorers in the rout. Hers was a fine display. Wales coach Ioan Cunningham would surely have noted.
LOSERS
Dragons
New season, new players, same old Dragons? It’s still early days, so not even the most pessimistic should write off their season just yet.
But the 44-6 hammering at the hands of Edinburgh on Saturday evening looked ominous — ominous because of the way the Welsh team imploded once the hosts started to gain in confidence, ominous because they were their own worst enemies in leaking 21 penalties, ominous because too few leaders stepped forward to steady the ship once it started listing.
They had actually started promisingly, but, like the Ospreys against the Scarlets earlier in the afternoon, they failed to score the points their early dominance deserved. But whereas the Ospreys dug deep and stayed in the game in Llanelli, the Dragons couldn’t do so, failing to deal with Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn behind and a home pack that gradually warmed to the challenge.
Better discipline will be a starting point for improvement, but the Dragons also have to show more resolve when pressure comes on. Their effort in Scotland was nowhere near good enough, and all concerned at the set-up will surely know as much.
Liam Williams
Not really a loser — the tag never suits someone who plays with his heart on his sleeve and gives his all in every game — but it is fair to say his Cardiff debut didn’t pan out as he would have wanted.
Williams understandably looked emotional as he left the pitch with his arm in a sling after only 20 minutes against Munster. Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young later described the collarbone injury as “significant”.
You’d need a hard heart not to feel sorry for the Wales international. You can read more about the making of him here. He would have been looking to start well at his new club after exiting the Scarlets, with injuries having blighted his second spell in Llanelli. But fate sometimes refuses to play ball.
Cardiff, Wales and Williams will hope the bump doesn’t prove as concerning as it looked.
Wales Women
While almost any team in the world going up against England Women these days would likely struggle, it’s an understatement to say Wales would have been disappointed to lose 73-7.
On the day the team in white were superb. But a bit of perspective is called for.
England have been professional for three years, while Wales coach Ioan Cunningham has had a squad of full-timers since July, with 12 of those on the exclusively pay-for-play beat since January and others operating as semi-pros for much of time since. Announcing his 32-player World Cup squad on Wednesday, he will hope things improve, but this result showed just how long it might take to catch up with the world heavyweights.
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