Wales 28, Japan 21: Great at the back, not so good up front

Simon Thomas 

Great at the back, not so good up front sounds like a bit of a football analysis, but it actually sums up this performance from Wales pretty succinctly.

Looking ahead to the much tougher tasks to come this autumn, the challenge will be to maintain the former and sort out the latter.

To start with the positives from this nervy win over Japan, there’s one place to look – the back three.

The trio of Louis Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams and Blair Murray were the real shining lights for Wales, with Rees-Zammit deservedly named Player of the Match.

He was back in every sense of the word. He was back on the wing after the experiment of employing him at 15, he was back in the tries, with his first in eight Tests, and he was back to his best.

The figures really speak for themselves when it comes to his contribution.

He led the way for metres gained (121), defenders beaten (13) and line breaks (5), while there was a sharp finish for his try as he stepped inside the cover.

His ability to evade a tackle – which has been enhanced by the additional physical strength he now brings in contact – just makes him such a weapon.

The 25-year-old set the tone from the outset with a searing run from deep in just the second minute, leaving three defenders in his wake, and he was to prove a threat with ball in hand throughout.

He just seems so much more comfortable on the wing where he is able to focus on what he does best, beating opponents one on one and showing off his electrifying pace.

There is a lot more to think about at full-back, in terms of positional play and having more of a connecting role to play within the team shape.

In a way, his role has been simplified now and it certainly plays to his strengths as he can concentrate on demonstrating his individual brilliance on the end of things out on the right wing.

Yet, he still has the option of popping up all across the park as he did to great effect on a couple of occasions.

He made the initial big midfield carry off a lineout ahead of his own try and was also involved twice out on the left ahead of Adams’ first try, first joining the back line and then providing the assist, popping a scoring offload up from the deck.

He even showed his ability with the boot, most notably with one raking touchfinder down the left touchline.

Make no mistake, he’s back and that’s a huge boost for Wales.

Speaking after the game, he said: “It means everything to me to be able to do this in a Welsh jersey and to score a try. So I am very happy.”

His fellow wing Adams also had one of his best games for Wales in recent years.

It was a real all-round display from the 31-year-old as he won his 73rd cap.

There were two more tries to take his Test tally up to 25, placing him fifth on the Welsh all-time list, with his first touchdown a particularly smart finish as he stepped between two defenders.

He wasn’t too far behind Rees-Zammit for metres carried on 102, with a fair few of those coming via the run-in for his second.

To cap a fine performance, he won a crucial jackal penalty in the final minute to secure the victory, just as Japan were threatening an equalising score.

Completing the back three was No 15 Murray, who also hoovered up the metres – 94 of them in all.

He did some heroic sweeping up at the back and it was his break from deep that set up the vital second try for Adams as he picked up a loose ball and burst down the left, turning defence into exhilarating attack.

So the good news is Wales have a back three that can do real damage.

Moving forward, the challenge is to get them into the game as much as possible and that will necessitate a much improved performance up front.

Set piece

So that brings us on to the pack problems.

The biggest issue of all was the lineout where they lost six balls on their own throw.

That set piece has generally worked well during Steve Tandy’s tenure, but this time it came right off the rails in the face of strong contesting from Japan.

It meant promising attacking positions went to waste, with potentially productive driving maul opportunities missed out on and the new look midfield not having as many chances to show what they can do.

Wales were able to secure the win on this occasion largely through the back three making the very most of the ball that did come their way.

But if they are to be competitive in the next two Nations Championship games against New Zealand and Australia, they simply have to sort out the lineout.

Skipper Dewi Lake – centrally involved at hooker – delivered an honest assessment post match.

“There is no hiding away from the fact we were poor in that area,” he said.

“There is work for us to do. We will put that right and be ready to go next week.”

The good thing is that the lineout has worked in the past, so there is reason to believe they can iron out the creases that beset them in this campaign opener.

What’s probably more of a concern is the lack of ball carrying power from the pack because that’s a lot harder to fix given the personnel available.

There were a couple of instances where they went through multiple pick and gos in the Japanese 22, but were just unable to make real headway.

Wales do have some quality forwards, but what they don’t have is real powerful, heavy carriers.

Ultimately, that just comes down to the size of player that Tandy has at his disposal.

So it probably means they will have to look to utilise the athleticism of their forwards and play with greater width, rather than bash away up the middle.

When they did that, they got results, notably when Jac Morgan popped up on the left wing ahead of Adams’ first try and when Rees-Zammit crossed out on the right after Eddie James had bumped scrum-half Naoto Saito out of his path.

The other area where Wales need to sharpen up is their ball retention.

They conceded 16 turnovers, as some early campaign rustiness emerged.

So lots to work on, but also some positives and it was a win – a fourth in 13 Tests under Steve Tandy – and a bonus point win at that.

Exiles

Going into the game, much of the discussion had surrounded the coach’s historic team selection.

For the first time ever, the Wales starting line-up featured more exiles than home-based players, with nine of the team plying their trade in England.

And it was the Anglos that took centre stage as Wales came flying out of the blocks in the early exchanges.

First there was the scintillating run out of defence from Rees-Zammit of Bristol which immediately got the fans out of their seats.

Then came an all-English affair for the opening score after just four minutes.

Off an attacking lineout, Tomos Williams of Saracens serviced carries from Aaron Wainwright of Leicester and Dewi Lake of Gloucester, with skipper Lake busting through two defenders as he surged up to the whitewash.

Then it was over to Archie Griffin of Bath to provide the finish as the prop ran onto a miss-pass from Williams to pocket his first try for Wales.

Good work

But for much of the first half, it was to be a story of good work from the hosts being followed by the concession of scores.

Twice Japan levelled things up, responding to the tries from Griffin and Adams.

First flanker Ben Gunter produced an impressive in-out finish after Warner Dearns had sacked Williams at the base of a ruck to secure a turnover.

Then, following Adams’ opener, lock Dearns went from instigator to scorer as he burrowed over from close range.

It looked as though the trend might continue when the visitors threatened to tie things up once more straight after Rees-Zammit’s try.

But prop Nicky Smith did some priceless work over the ball near his own line to deny them and keep it 21-14 at the break.

There were to be two similarly decisive defensive interventions in the second half.

First Lake led by example at the breakdown to get his team out of a hole and then came Adams’ victory clinching work in the final minute.

So it’s a win to build on, but the work up front will have to match the excellence at the back if Wales are to live with the big guns to come.