These World Cup warm-up games mean nothing, of course, but that does not preclude the search for significance. No one had to look very hard here. Wales could have gone to No 1 in the world rankings with a win and extended their record unbeaten run to 15. And they picked a team to suggest these were landmarks that meant something to them. Alas, either they did not mean enough or Wales are not ready to claim them.
It is surely the latter. They have moved on to the shoulder of New Zealand at the top of the rankings courtesy of their most recent grand slam, an achievement not to be sniffed at – but, as grand slams go, it was hardly convincing, yielding them no more tries, 10, than Italy, the wooden-spooners. They developed a happy knack of winning – or forgetting how to lose, as Warren Gatland memorably put it. Here they were finally issued with a reminder.
This was more or less the team that won the grand slam. Their fabled defence was torn apart on a few occasions by an England team for whom the categorisation of “experimental” feels euphemistic. Rumours of unrest have emerged from England’s summer camp, and Eddie Jones has been messing with the heads of everyone with his rogue decisions, picking debutants to no obvious benefit at this late stage, replacing players at the last minute, announcing early World Cup squads. No one can work him out.
The feeling persists, though, that creative chaos is simply the Eddie way. Such antics can blow up in the perpetrator’s face at any moment but on the evidence of this “meaningless” match it is working so far. England continued their attacking excellence of recent times. What really stands out about them is the way they cut up teams early on, when everyone is fresh and there are no excuses. Their problem, famously, has been maintaining it. Here was another second half without a try.
But they do like to fill their boots in the first. It still feels weird to say it, although it has actually been the case for some time (remember Stuart Lancaster’s free-scoring England in the Six Nations preceding the unseemly collapse at their own World Cup), but England are a team of lavish attacking gifts, whose big problems have been defence and mental composure. If attack wins World Cups, England might even be favourites.
Unfortunately the adage about what wins World Cups has it rather differently. If defence wins them, England are still some way down the rankings, even if there were hopeful signs of an improvement as Wales raised the tempo in the second half.
Familiar patterns emerged from the start, England ripping Wales apart every which way for the first 20 minutes, before Gareth Davies picked up the loose ball at the base of a twisting scrum and ripped them apart. Davies is as deadly a scrum‑half as any but the way he handed off a floundering Billy Vunipola was too easy, as was the way he rounded Elliot Daly, England’s last line of defence, with an ease that must have had Mike Brown spinning in his confinement.
Vunipola might be said to represent this England vintage, devastating in attack but all too easily confounded in defence. He was flummoxed again when George North picked and went in the second half for his try at a time when England’s discipline deteriorated and it looked as if there could be a repeat of the extraordinary events against Scotland.
Wales moved to within a score shy of the hour, having trailed by 17 just after half-time, and were starting to play as if they believed they were the fitter team. England looked ragged but, led by the ubiquitous flankers, Lewis Ludlam and Courtney Lawes, on for Tom Curry who had looked a million dollars before his injury in the first half, they regrouped. George Ford put his foot on the ball, as they say in that other sport, and improved game management looked as if it might just be a new box ticked.
Time will tell whether defence or attack wins this World Cup. England are scoring tries with abandon (24 in that last Six Nations). Maybe that will be enough. But Wales will tell them there is no substitute for actually remembering to win. That spine of Saracens, yet to return, very definitely know how to but England regained that knack in encouraging circumstances without them. Wales, for once, lost it. Who knows what any of it means. Probably nothing.
