LONG READ 'Wales' challenge now is to make the effort against Ireland their default setting’

They came, they saw and they concurred – legions of red-robed supporters pretty much all of the opinion that Wales were unrecognisable from the lost, guileless bunch who had barely fired a shot against Italy and looked at times as if they were on a mission to reduce rugby’s standing as a spectator sport to below that of underwater swimming.

How ineffectual was the Welsh attack in Rome?

Well, Joe Calzaghe once famously threw 1,010 punches in a 12-round world title boxing match against Mikkel Kessler. Against Italy, Wales were at the other end of the spectrum. Punchless in almost every respect.

But that was then. Fast forward a few weeks and the landscape has changed.

Warren Gatland has gone – in fairness, classily waiving his right to a potential six-figure payoff from the Welsh Rugby Union – and Matt Sherratt has come in as caretaker team boss, overseeing his first game when Ireland came to town.

New coach bounce?

Well, they did lose in the opener under Sherratt’s stewardship, but if progress can be measured in terms of performance, Wales had every right to be encouraged by the events in Cardiff in round three of the championship.

It had been so long since they took a step forward.

Part of the problem was that they were stuck in a certain way of doing things under their former coach, who had achieved success during his first stint in charge via a formula tailored to exploit the battalion of big and physically dominant players he had at his disposal, particularly behind the scrum.

Expecting Gatland to suddenly start fielding sides committed to a more free-flowing, expansive style was a bit like asking Ivan the Terrible to introduce a spot of comedy to his act circa 1555.

Such individuals were no longer around during Gatland 2.0, and, anyway, what worked yesterday often fails to do the job today and no matter what the New Zealander tried over the final 17 months of his second stint at the helm, results proved elusive.

The need for a change of approach was obvious, but expecting the 61-year-old, who had never quite shaken off a reputation for risk-averse rugby, to suddenly start fielding sides committed to a more free-flowing, expansive style was a bit like asking Ivan the Terrible to introduce a spot of comedy to his act circa 1555.

Enter Sherratt: unassuming and a coach who enjoys his teams playing entertaining rugby. Happily, he barely put a foot wrong in his first week in charge. Telling those under his command that they needed to play as a team rather than as individuals, he brought his skills as a teacher to the table and ensured messages were simple to understand and persuasively delivered. Media pronouncements were upbeat but also measured, guarding against putting too much pressure on players.

And he did a bang-up job in selection, an area once considered a superstrength of Gatland’s until he weirdly started demoting quality players and developing blind-spots over others.

There were tactical tweaks and players were encouraged to express themselves within a structure… It was as if someone had blasted fresh air into a room that hadn’t been used in years.

Virtually all Sherratt’s changes came off. The scrum looked better for the inclusion of WillGriff John and Nicky Smith as starters, Ellis Mee proved a success on the wing and Elliot Dee found his lineout targets; Gareth Anscombe ran the attack well, Max Llewellyn added a physical presence and Ben Thomas looked more assured in his preferred position of inside centre.

There were tactical tweaks and players were encouraged to express themselves within a structure. There were 13 offloads, 251 passes, 33 defenders beaten and six line-breaks, including two apiece from Mee and the impressive Blair Murray. It was as if someone had blasted fresh air into a room that hadn’t been used in years.

Wales won the territory battle, not least because Anscombe worked them into the right areas.  They also came out on top in the possession stakes. How, then, did they not prevail on the scoreboard? Because Ireland were more clinical and had the ability to lift their game when they needed to, with Jamison-Gibson Park a masterly controller and Bundee Aki a player with the ability and presence to change any match.

The challenge for Wales now is to make the effort against the Irish their default setting.

But Jockey, as Sherratt is known, appreciates there are still challenging fences ahead. “I have been coaching long enough,” he said after the game against Ireland. “There is always going to be a bounce – a fresh voice, a different attack. The challenge is building on that bounce over the next couple of games.”

‘Where did Wales find that big bloke with the moustache? What a lump he is – hard to shift in the scrums.’

He is right, of course, and one game proves only so much. Wales defeated England in a memorable encounter in 1993, prompting talk of a new dawn, only to crash 20-0 to Scotland at Murrayfield a fortnight later, prompting calls for the entire Welsh pack to be replaced. Violent mood swings are not a new phenomenon in Welsh rugby.

So maybe it’s wise not to draw too many firm conclusions from a single afternoon.

Perhaps it’s best to wait for a complete reel of pictures before hailing with confidence that Wales are back as serious players in the international game.

That said, it’s hard to imagine the thousands who spilled out of the Principality Stadium after the Ireland game bought into that line of thinking. It isn’t the way things are done in Welsh rugby, where planes bound for infinity and beyond take off in imaginations every five minutes or so after a bright performance. Always have done. But maybe that’s part of the fun.

Certainly, those this writer spoke with the morning after the game before were keen to savour the positives. ‘Where did Wales find that big bloke with the moustache?’ asked one of the many men who deliver parcels to our house every week.  ‘What a lump he is – hard to shift in the scrums.’

Andrew Porter would no doubt agree that the 20st WillGriff John was indeed difficult to budge at the set-piece.

But it wasn’t just John’s scrummaging that caught the eye. The big man also carried and tackled, with two of his hits dominant affairs that shunted opponents backwards. So hard did he deliver one of those connections that the chap on the receiving end must have felt he’d been hit by a mechanical grabber. You wondered why we hadn’t seen more of all this from the 32-year-old before now.

The wing Tom Rogers also came up with two moments that will stick in the memory, the first seeing him soar high into the air to claim possession with an assurance that might have been signed off by Liam Williams in his bomb-defusing pomp and the second involving an acrobatic finish that defied gravity as well as Ireland’s defence.

Helping to make everything tick was Taulupe Faletau. Whether from restarts, in the loose, in defence or from the base of scrums, Mr Reliable carried out the basics of his trade cleanly and without fuss, seemingly blessed with a sixth sense that allowed him to be in the right place at the right time. His was a masterclass of understated quality.

But the history books will still record a 15th consecutive loss for the team.

Few will doubt the size of the task in round four, when Wales head for Murrayfield to face a Scotland side that should have beaten England at Twickenham. It will be a searching test, but Dewi Lake’s return to the squad after injury will further bolster belief, and Sherratt will be looking for his team to show the same ambition.

Two more big performances to round off the championship might yet send Wales into the summer with a feeling that the worst is behind them.

A quick word on Wales U20s after their win over their Ireland counterparts. At times it was a bit like The Alamo, with grim defence to the fore, but maybe if Davy Crockett had been introduced to Harry Beddall before the engagement in Texas all those years ago, the result might have been different.

Welsh skipper and openside Beddall put in 34 tackles at Rodney Parade, leading from the front. Hooker Harry Thomas, tighthead Sam Scott and lock Tom Cottle were among others who deserve high praise for their efforts. Wales won just 36 percent of the possession, but their resolve was something to behold.

A more heartening round of games for Welsh rugby, then. But it will count for only so much if it’s not built on.

Two more big performances to round off the championship might yet send Wales into the summer with a feeling that the worst is behind them.

Always, it’s the hope that kills you.