Just another week on the rollercoaster.There is no other nation whose fans tend to ride the wave between despair following a loss and the adrenaline-inducing highs a win can bring.
Barracked from all corners after defeat in Ireland, Wales were far, far better against Scotland and looked more like the side which won last year’s Championship.
Now, with England at Twickenham up next a week on Saturday, the challenge for Wayne Pivac’s side is to ensure that the level of their performance against Scotland and not their showing against Ireland is what they deliver.
Wales returned to form on Saturday to beat Scotland 20-17 in their second Six Nations match
Eddie Jones’ England are next on the menu for Wales, and they’re ready for the fierce test
‘We weren’t happy with the performance in Dublin and we had an honest week,’ said Wales centre Jonathan Davies, who won his 100th Test cap off the bench.
‘We knew we could play much better than that.Scotland was a stepping stone. It was nowhere near the finished article but I think the attitude, application and defence was outstanding. It showed the effort and the will to win to make sure we keep our Championship hopes alive.
‘History has shown over the years that this group gets better the more time we spend together.It’s an important week now to keep growing as a squad.
‘We have the opportunity to go to Twickenham and take on an England squad that is competitive. It should be a good game.’
Jonathan Davies was annoyed by Wales’ display against Ireland in their Six Nations opener
Davies’ century of appearances makes him one of the most experienced members of Wales’ squad, which has been shorn of eight injured British and Irish Lions.
The centre, 33, is right when he acknowledges that Wales tend to improve as a campaign goes on. They will need to do so again to beat England.But they head to Twickenham with confidence.
Their pack came to the party in Cardiff. Hooker Ryan Elias was outstanding with 100 per cent line-out success and 12 carries.Lock Will Rowlands also summed up the Wales improvement in physicality with 11 carries, 65 metres made and 11 tackles.
Davies said: ‘Wayne alluded to it in the week that this was almost a final.In every game now we have to make sure we are competitive and win. We still have a chance in this competition but you want to be in the fight. We can take confidence out of this going to Twickenham but there is a huge amount of work to do.’
Wales captain Dan Biggar, who like Davies was playing his 100th Test, produced a supreme and typically combative performance to guide his team to victory.
Scotland stunned England on the opening weekend, giving Wales strong hope in London
Biggar outplayed his opposite number Finn Russell, who was yellow carded late on for a deliberate knock on. It allowed Biggar, who played for 79 minutes despite a knee injury, to slot the match-winning drop goal.Wales’ fans went potty at the final whistle.
‘I’ve always said Principality Stadium is the best in the world and we have the best fans,’ said Davies, who appeared off the bench to a huge cheer. ‘Nothing compares to it. We are very proud to represent the people in Wales.’
Biggar and Russell traded first-half kicks and amanslot Wales prop Tomas Francis was driven over for only his second Test try, which cancelled out Scotland wing Darcy Graham’s effort.
In greasy second-half conditions, Biggar marshalled the game superbly and after his long-range penalty attempt rebounded off the posts and Russell saw yellow, amanslot he delivered.
Biggar’s emotion at the full-time whistle said everything about how much the win meant and he celebrated by taking his son James to watch Sing 2.
Dan Biggar has hit form just in time for the defending champions to face Eddie Jones’ men
‘I won’t be watching kids films,’ said Davies, with a smile.‘I can tell you that for sure! Maybe I’ll have a margarita.’
Wales will not only be buoyed by a win ahead of England but also potential reinforcements. Centre Uilisi Halaholo will come into consideration and amanslot so could Bath’s Taulupe Faletau after he made a try-scoring return against Wasps.
‘We’ve got to build on what we’ve done,’ said Elias, who is growing each game as a Test hooker with Ken Owens injured.
‘I thought the set-piece was a lot better and we fired a lot more shots around the park.Hopefully we can go up another gear against the English. We need to keep getting better.’