Adventure and misadventure

Jonathan Davies gives his expert analysis of the Twickenham action

ENGLAND took the victory but there's no doubt who will get more enjoyment out of the inquest. Once they get over the pain of defeat, Wales will look back and see many reasons for encouragement.

All England will see are problems. For all their domination in the second half they managed to finish the game looking flat and uncomfortable. They just can't shake negative play out of their system, and through sheer spirit and optimism Wales were able to get back into the game and produce a close scoreline.

Wales have still got a long way to go and will do themselves no favours thinking otherwise. But at least they now know where they are going and have created the makings of a team that can get them there. And that is the big difference when you weigh the lessons of Twickenham. Wales made most of their mistakes through trying to be positive, England through not being positive enough.

Wales were candidates for a hammering yesterday. They went to Twickenham with seven players, including their captain, who had never played in the Championship before. But they had some good, brave ideas, like kicking long at restarts in the hope the England backs would kick for touch, which brought them a lot of lineout ball.

England should note that being positive brings results. Even if what you try doesn't come off at least you've learned from it. Wales have now got something to build on.

England, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board. They came out of the game with many awkward questions to be answered; like what sort of game do they want to play? If it is a more expansive game they want, they need a drastic re-think about one or two positions.

Paul Grayson didn't have an accurate game kicking at goal but these things can happen. What is more worrying is that he finds it difficult to introduce a little variety. His first idea is to kick, and if a kick isn't on then he has wasted valuable seconds that will threaten the success of his next option. At that level both thought and execution have to be like lightning.

Arwel Thomas made plenty of mistakes but not because he wasn't sure what to do. He might have picked the wrong option on occasion, but errors when you are trying to do something positive are forgiveable. He never hesitated nor lost his nerve, which is what encouraged me.

Imagine the criticism he would have taken if Wales hadn't scored from his decision to run that penalty in the 11th minute. Here were the massive underdogs with a kickable early penalty and he decides to run it. In a 21 year old that is a precious quality.

Maybe Grayson can perform the same task but he needs a much more adventurous spirit inside himself and in those around him. The man who could have done a great job for England yesterday was sitting beside me in the commentary box. They are going to find it very difficult to replace Rob Andrew, who was always sure about what to do next.

My man of the match was Robert Howley. He was confident and assertive in everything he did and those qualities shone through in the late try he deservedly scored. He had the benefit in the first half of a Welsh pack who played very well. They dominated the line-outs but not enough of that superiority produced clean ball.

England ground them down in the second half but made so little of that control.