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Wales will be better for coming through their injury woes, starting with Liam Williams’s withdrawal which saw Leigh Halfpenny make a first Test start since November.

“We showed some fantastic character and big cojones out there. That’s what these boys are about, they wear this jersey with pride,” Gatland said. “Teams are going to beat us because we’re such a small nation, but if they do, they’re going to have to play pretty well, because these boys are pretty proud Welshmen who won’t roll over easy.”

Not that it meant Wales had to be serious all the time. Ken Owens’s feigned frustration during George North’s try, arms outstretched in mock dismay that Dan Biggar’s cross-field kick had not fallen his way, became a social-media hit.

“I thought it was going to be mine at one point but it was more relief that it wasn’t going to bounce off my chest,” Owens said. “I think rugby can get a bit serious, so we scored a great try and so we will have a bit of fun with this. It was a relief that I didn’t have to catch it as it could have gone anywhere!”

Owens’s overthrow at the lineout was pivotal to England’s win at Twickenham, so few will have been happier with Wales’s 100 per cent record in that area this week, winning all 15 of their throws. Wales’s system in that moment faltered under pressure. One week on, they held their nerve to see out victory.

“You have to back yourself. We reviewed [the line-out] and the process was not quite right at that lineout, and we spoke about sticking to what we do,” Owens said. “We needed to start a lot better. The first 20 minutes last week cost us the game. We spoke about our line speed defensively and our accuracy in attack and we delivered that.

“In fairness, the boys came up with some big plays. Dillon Lewis with a big turnover, turning the maul over, which is a big strength of England, and with a scrum five metres out I managed to get a clean strike and get it out quick. Then it comes down to patience. We are not the finished article yet though.”