Basham’s starring show on the flank could prove stroke of luck for Wales
FOR the first time in 20 months, a capacity crowd piled into the Principality Stadium to watch Wales play.
They went there with faint hope, as far removed from expectation as possible, that this would be the day Wales defeated the All Blacks.
They left there without witnessing history, but instead having perhaps seen the latest in a long line of outstanding openside talents in a red jersey.
If you’d have polled the masses as they flooded out onto Westgate Street come 7.30pm on Saturday night, Taine Basham would have been the name which would have left most lips when asked for a Welsh standout performer.
To the manor born is certainly one way of describing his performance, with the Dragons back-rower taking the fight to the All Blacks in just his fourth Test cap.
So, what made his outing so special? We’ve taken a closer look.
It became apparent after a matter of seconds that the 21-year-old was up for it, with some nice work from the tail of a lineout helping to shut down an early New Zealand attack.
It started with Basham working across the defensive line, working hard to plug a gap or sniff out a turnover opportunity should it arise.
With Beauden Barrett committing Gareth Anscombe straight off the bat, David Havili ran an out-to-in line right into the space behind where Anscombe had stepped out of.
However, it was the hard work of
Basham, folding in behind, which ensured the All Blacks centre was met by a Welsh jersey as he received the pass – forcing a knock-on.
Defensively, Basham led the way with 14 tackles.
Even when caught on the hop a touch, Basham has an ability to punch above his weight.
This was demonstrated by how he turned on a dime to swallow up an All Blacks ball-carrier having been tracking across in the opposite direction.
With Wales having conceded an early intercept try, it was the work of Basham which got Wales an instant reply on the scoreboard.
Making the initial tackle as New Zealand looked to move infield and set up an exit from the kick-off, Basham shrugged off the support player and released the tackler before he hit the deck.
That allowed him to get over for the ball for as textbook a turnover penalty as you are likely to see.
That is an area of the game which Basham isn’t particularly renowned for compared to his explosive carrying, but it is something that Wayne Pivac himself acknowledged he has worked on well recently.
In the build-up to New Zealand’s second try towards the end of the first half – the score which put a distance between the sides that Wales never came back from – it was
Basham who managed to slow Kiwi ball down with crucial breakdown interventions: not once, but twice.
The second one will be all the more frustrating, given the work he did, only for a defensive miscommunication to waste Basham’s efforts – with one Welsh jersey flying out and another sticking to leave a dog leg in the defence.
Despite that, his efforts at breakdown certainly helped on a day when Wales could not deal with the All Blacks’ physicality.
Of course, it was the explosive carrying which had marked him out as one to watch.
Wales’ clean breaks were few and far between, with Basham responsible for one of the four recorded.
From a kick return, Johnny Mcnicholl went on another meandering run to find a half-gap before offloading to Anscombe.
Basham had started in front of Mcnicholl and Anscombe, but by the time the Welsh fly-half received the ball, he was behind the play and ready to burst through a gap at pace.
Even on a second or third viewing, it is quite impressive how Basham is able to explode through the gap from a near-standing start.
To top it off, he didn’t die with the ball but has the awareness to release Tomos Williams with a simple drawand-give.
There are, of course, some things to be ironed out. His impact, perhaps understandably, waned a touch as the match went on.
For a 21-year-old in his fourth Test match, stemming the tide of an All Blacks tsunami past the hour mark is a tough task.
Some of the carries lacked a little of that punch we had seen in the first half, while on the other side of the ball some of his collisions were ultimately lost. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, though.
The more Basham is exposed to this level, the more he will become accustomed with the speed of Test rugby.
As Pivac said, Wales now have an extra player moving forward to the 2023 World Cup who they didn’t previously have.
The other thing that Wales’ coaches might want to take a look at is his tackle technique.
No-one made more tackles than Basham in a red jersey, so he is clearly effective in that facet of the game, but his approach to contact can occasionally get a little narrow, with his arms tucking into his chest.
In the first half, he perhaps got away with failing to wrap for one big hit on Ethan Blackadder, while that same technique saw him fall off Dalton Papalii at the tail of the lineout as his opposite number broke away to score.
It is a minor detail, but one that could cost him moving forward.
That ironing out will have to be done sooner rather than later, it would seem.
Because after Wales v New Zealand, it certainly looks like the seven jersey will be his for the rest of this autumn campaign.