DRAGONS MAKE THE CASE FOR THEIR DEFENCE
IF winning the World Cup was all about ticking boxes, Wales would be a shoo-in.
Squad exposed as too shallow when injuries start to bite? Bring on your understudies, give them time in the limelight.
Realise teams are working out your famed defensive patterns? Get Shaun Edwards, one of the most agile rugby brains, to redraw his own blueprint.
Lacking confidence after a poor Six Nations? Go on a seven-game winning run, picking up victories in South Africa and Argentina on the way.
Drawn against perennial nemesis Australia in your World Cup group? Beat them 12 months out to end a decade of defeats and disappointment.
No matter that this was turgid, brutal, slow and cagey. Ending the Wallabies’ run of 13 straight wins was all that mattered, and if it came at the cost of artistic merit, then so be it.
“All day we showed that our defence was pretty rock solid and we just had to make sure we stuck to the system Shaun’s put in place, and we were confident we’d get the victory,” said Jonathan Davies, the Lion whose return to the Welsh midfield has done much to give the team control and discipline.
“When we had the ball it was a case of working hard to make sure we kept possession. There were very few opportunities out there. But the composure, and the desire to play in the right areas got us home.
“The point is we expect to win big games now. We’ve got great strength in depth and confidence. Our record against Australia hasn’t been great but there is a new batch of players coming through who haven’t had that hanging over them.
“You could see the confidence in the squad. Everybody is on the same page and we know what we need to do to execute.”
While Leigh Halfpenny seemed to be reading from a different book when it came to goalkicking – he struck two but missed two sitters – he and the rest of Warren Gatland’s men were focused, clear-headed, and cut out the errors that in the past had gifted Australia and others narrow victories.
And when Halfpenny was flattened by Samu Kerevi’s follow-through with five minutes left, Gatland had No.1 fly-half Dan Biggar to send on. His first real contribution was to bang over the winning penalty with two minutes to go.
If one more box needs ticking, it is to find a sprinkling of stardust to lift their attack. But they have time for that.
“I’m a bit disappointed we couldn’t get over the whitewash,” said fly-half Gareth Anscombe (inset with Alun Wyn Jones), who is sure to be rested when Gatland makes a raft of changes with Tonga next up on Saturday.
“We created a few opportunities and to go up a step we need to be more clinical. But we’re in the habit of winning, which is nice. We need to keep improving but we’re in a healthy place.”