There is, it seems, always a toll for Wales. Six quid and a bit to enter the land at the Severn Bridge and players injured at the Millennium Stadium. The game was won with something to spare, but with two of the starting team limping off, Liam Williams less haltingly than Cory Allen.
Allen had a game of wild contrasts. A hat-trick of tries in the first half told of his pace, awareness of space and poacher’s instincts. He was very much part of the … revival may be too strong a word for it … readjustment Wales were forced into after a slightly unsteady start. Allen worked very well alongside Scott Williams. In the search for alternatives should anything ever happen to Jamie Roberts, here was a hand held high.
And then in the second half his hamstring went and he departed, with arms held low. Everybody had bumps and bruises but most are managed in private. From the moment Rhys Webb went down against Italy, Wales have suffered in public.
Allen, right, wasn’t the first to go. Liam Williams rose to his feet in the first half and spent the next several minutes limping and stretching and trying to high-step on the spot his way to recovery. In the end he conceded he was better off in the stands, reaching for the icepack. The only good news was that it appeared to be a bruise to his thigh, rather than an aggravation of the foot injury that had kept him out for months.
Dan Lydiate, who came on late, wasn’t able to make it to the end either. The toll was high and the pain was out there for everyone to see.
Not everything was quite so gloomy. The forwards, with Luke Charteris a conspicuous tower of strength, took a pragmatic line and drove well from the lineout. The Welsh scrum was solid. It is always supposed any team from South America has a scrummaging tradition, based on Argentina’s penchant for the set piece, and Wales were not prepared to yield at that particular pressure point. Samson Lee, victim of a tear to his achilles tendon, made an emphatic return up front. He was rewarded for his solidity with a try, his first for his country, before being replaced at the break for safety reasons.
It is a sign of the concerns over injuries that the crowd applauded with relief each player that departed for tactical reasons. Not to be hurt was a reason to cheer. Sam Warburton was clapped all the way into the changing room. It is not exactly a mark of confidence that the nation expects the team to go far in the World Cup, but for the moment every piece of news that isn’t an injury is to be welcomed.
Scott Williams played to the end, full of running, full of lust for contact and full of a new range of passes – long and short – to go with his more abrasive style. He played well with Allen; he will play well with Roberts. He is fast becoming the banker around whom the team will revolve if it is going to move from the role of unlucky victim to genuine contender.
Justin Tipuric has an even wider range of passes. In a way, this game was made for him. He even managed to look down on one of his opposite numbers, the short and stocky Juan Manuel Gaminara, which is unusual for him. He may not be the biggest but Tipuric brings invention and subtlety to Wales’s game. This may not be enough to give him a place in Saturday’s clash with England since back-row places may be reserved for the full-on heavyweights, but he will take to the field at some stage and he will offer something very different and dangerous.
This game against Uruguay offered an opportunity to Alex Cuthbert and Hallam Amos. One of them will be picked as the other wing to George North. Amos played in his busy, bustling way. Cuthbert is going through a stage when nothing, but nothing, will go right for him. Amos raced into midfield once, timing his entry to perfection. Whenever Cuthbert arrived he had to slow to take the ball. Every time he stayed in his conventional position and sought to stretch his legs he had to check again or over-reach for the pass. His frustration was almost as visible as the pain on the face of Allen and Williams.
Confidence against crisis. Tipuric and Scott Williams pointed Wales one way; Allen, Liam Williams and Cuthbert walked slowly off in the other direction. Doing well at the World Cup does not come easily.
