■ Winners & losers:
IT says much for where Wales find themselves that some supporters this side of the River Severn appeared relieved their team had managed to restrict England to an 11-point win in Llanelli.
There had been fears of the visitors running in 50 points out west against opponents who haven’t been firing under Wayne Pivac.
A combination of stubborn home defence and England not being especially sharp in attack meant the men in white had to settle for a win without a flourish.
But triumph they did, with their pack dictating in most areas.
MARK ORDERS assesses the winners and losers.
WINNERS JOHNNY WILLIAMS
Amid Welsh disappointment in a home defeat by England, Williams’ performance offered a bright spot for those in need of such a thing to cling onto.
The Scarlets inside centre had a fine game, backing up his strong effort against Georgia the previous weekend.
Among his highlights were an uncompromising hit which stopped Billy Vunipola on the gain-line and another piledriver which drove back Johnny May.
Williams also scored the Welsh try after staying in support to finish off good work from Dan Biggar.
He can attack, but he can also front up in defence if required.
His emergence has been a significant positive for Wales.
LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT
If Leigh Halfpenny had a strong game in defence, reading play so well that at times he appeared to know what England were going to do even before white-shirted players themselves, there was another member of the Welsh back-three who caught the eye.
That would be Louis Rees-Zammit.
The teenager is known for his blinding pace but he showed another side to his game with excellent covering, anticipation and tackling.
His was a display of impressive maturity, embellished by a couple of runs down the wing.
He seems to take challenges in his stride.
The future has arrived.
MAKO VUNIPOLA
He was brought up in Gwent and still has a hint of a Welsh accent.
Had his story turned out differently he could have been playing for Wales against England in Llanelli.
Instead, he wore white and proved to be one of Wales’ tormentors-inchief.
Not only did he score a try, he also forced a number of penalties out of Samson Lee at the scrum, with Wales responding by substituting their tight-head after just 42 minutes.
SAM UNDERHILL
Man of the match was another England player with Welsh links, Sam Underhill.
Rewind five years to the flanker making his Ospreys debut as a 19-year-old against Munster. He made 15 tackles without missing one, turned ball over and his six runs yielded 106 metres.
Even the most myopic would have seen after a handful of games that the youngster was destined to play international rugby.
He has developed into some player, one who punches holes in opposition defences with ball in hand and
who stops attacks with his tackling. Against Wales, he was outstanding.
NIGEL OWENS
OK, he wasn’t involved in Llanelli.
But let’s shove the boat out a shade. The Welshman became the first official to take charge of 100 Tests when he oversaw the France v Italy game on Saturday evening.
LOSERS ROMAIN POITE
The French referee got it wrong on the incident which saw Dan Biggar taken out in the air by Sam Underhill. Should he have at least reviewed it after the intervention from the TMO? Absolutely.
With play proceeding, England scored a try minutes later, heightening the ire of Welsh supporters.
Was it a game-changing moment? Probably not.
But the controversies didn’t end there for Poite.
One or two scrum penalties were also debatable.
And so was the hit which looked like a shoulder charge from Elliot Daly on Josh Adams.
Let’s agree it wasn’t the official’s best day.
WALES – FOR COMPLAINING ABOUT THE REF
An obituary of the great Ray Prosser noted that he was never a man to make excuses.
To the legendary coach, who passed away just days ago, defeats needed to be taken on the chin, however great the temptation to publicly complain.
Wales chose a different tack after their 24-13 defeat by England, suggesting they were going to protest to World Rugby about the officiating of Romain Poite.
There’s a case for believing the Frenchman got some of his calls wrong, with his decisions at the scrums coming under particular scrutiny.
But are such matters worth taking up with World Rugby at this point in time?
Wales should have more important things to concern themselves with, like finding a way to beat Italy next weekend.
Lose that and it won’t just be them doing the complaining.
SCARLETS PROPS
A week is a long time in rugby.
Wyn Jones and Samson Lee were rightfully acclaimed for their strong performances against Georgia, but seven days on they conceded five penalties between them, with referee Poite unimpressed with their scrummaging, in particular.
Lee looked to be on the wrong end of a tough call at least once.
But he was there to anchor the Welsh scrum and it didn’t go well for him in that respect, with Wayne Pivac withdrawing him from the fray early in the second half.
An early draft of stats suggested Jones had incurred Poite’s wrath on three occasions.
Wales’ scrum has been a concern in pretty much every game this autumn bar the match against Georgia.
Forwards coach John Humphreys has some major thinking to do.
WELSH LINEOUT
It’s been woeful throughout this campaign, and four more were lost against England.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether Ryan Elias or Elliot Dee is wearing the No. 2 shirt.
In every game, throws are either picked off or not straight.
Maybe it’s too easy just to blame the hooker.
After all, there are countless moving parts to every lineout.
But wherever the problems are, the Wales players and coaches have to put them right.
PIVAC AND HIS COACHING STAFF
Wales weren’t great up front or in attack against England.
Pretty much all their coaches are under scrutiny.
Chopping and changing team bosses after just a year wouldn’t be ideal and there would no be no guarantee of an upturn in fortunes if it did happen.
But the certainty is those running this Wales set-up are in need of a decent result to finish their campaign.