Before kick-off, Wales would probably have settled for the final scoreline back in 1887, when England first played an international match in Llanelli. Given recent results, last week’s win over a limited Georgia excepted, even a 0-0 stalemate would have felt like relative progress and a respite from the gloomy muttering about the immediate future for Wayne Pivac’s squad.
Instead the home side should, in some respects, feel quietly encouraged. By the end they were beaten, yes, but their defensive spirit and appetite for the fray against strong, confident opposition was definitely a cause for optimism. While the scrums were an issue, this was by no means the one-sided rout some had been fearing. Along with the missing pomp and circumstance which normally adorns this fixture there was absolutely no sign of Welsh defeatism which Pivac, for one, will be delighted about.
Summing up this all-important character in adversity was a man who, not long ago, was wearing the red rose. Johnny Williams represented England as recently as last year when he scored a try against the Barbarians in a non‑capped game at Twickenham; he was also part of the English Junior World Cup-winning squad in 2016. A Welsh-speaking father from Rhyl, though, offered him an alternative route on to the Test stage and the 24-year-old centre appears to be relishing every second.
Having also had to contend with a testicular cancer scare last year he looked easily the most motivated man on the field in the first half. Scoring the game’s first try, courtesy of Dan Biggar’s charge-down and touchline hack, was the least of it: whenever an Englishman was abruptly hurled backwards in the tackle, the former Newcastle and London Irish centre was usually in the vicinity.
Perhaps the most eye-catching example was the double hit on Mako Vunipola by Williams and James Botham, from which the ball exploded forwards like one of Bryson DeChambeau’s tee shots. Botham’s grandfather did not tend to mess around much on the cricket field and the apple has not fallen too far from the tree.
It helped to set precisely the bristling tone Wales urgently needed to make it a real contest in the absence of influential figures such as Liam Williams, Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi. If it helped that England were frequently predictable in attack, Eddie Jones’s side were clearly taken aback at times by the hosts’ physicality. Jake Ball and Shane Lewis-Hughes both put their bodies on the line uncomplainingly and a big tackle by Wyn Jones on his opposing prop, Kyle Sinckler, yielded another important turnover.
The only question was for how long Pivac’s proud army could sustain it. England’s fully loaded bench had looked ominous even before the match and, after Vunipola’s 50th-minute try had helped extend the visiting lead to 18-7, there was never much doubt which of the two sides would emerge victorious. That said, it will be interesting to see how much more assured Williams, Botham, Aaron Wainwright and Louis Rees-Zammit have become by the time these two teams meet again in Cardiff on the middle weekend of the 2021 Six Nations in late February.
A fair amount of Welsh patience is clearly going to be required but, equally, a sense of proportion would be wise. These are not normal times, for a start. The occasional piped crowd noise from the Principality Stadium merely served to underline the absence of Wales’s legions of passionate supporters and invite the question of how much more of an advantage a packed house in Cardiff might have delivered.
The pre-match flame throwers were nice and warming but, in truth, they were no substitute for the real fire and energy delivered by a packed Cardiff congregation. When Owen Farrell or Dan Biggar were kicking for goal it was so quiet that all you could hear was the drone of a nearby generator. “Under neon loneliness” is a phrase that appears in the lyrics of Motorcycle Emptiness by the Manic Street Preachers and it felt particularly appropriate here. West Wales is a wonderful part of the world but the sooner Test rugby regains a little of its big-city razzle-dazzle the better.