SHANE WILLIAMS
WALES AND LIONS LEGEND
HAPPY Birthday Taulupe Faletau! What a way to celebrate reaching 32 by scoring a try and picking up the man of the match award in a much-needed win for Wales. He was the one player who was exempt from all the criticism for the lack-lustre performance against the All Blacks – he made 26 tackles and didn't miss one – and was even more commanding and eye-catching against the Pumas.
Pablo Matera is quite rightly regarded as a world class player in the Argentine back row, but he was no match for Taulupe. He was simply superb and the example he set spurred on young Jac Morgan when he came on to replace the unfortunate Dan Lydiate.
It has been a crazy year for rugby results – everyone seems to be beating sides ranked well above them. We had Italy downing Australia this week, Samoa going to Georgia and winning after taking a hammering in Italy the previous weekend and Wales finally getting up for the fight a week after conceding a record 55 points and eight tries to New Zealand.
Michael Cheika's Pumas were both creative and combative in equal measure in beating England 30-29 six days before coming too Cardiff and were everyone's favourites to post another notable victory. For me, they went into their shell too much and missed a golden opportunity to make it back-to-back wins.
Wales were better, much better, than seven days earlier. But they couldn't have been any worse! To their credit they took the fight to the Pumas and just got the better of them.
When you challenge a team's character and physicality, you expect a response. That's what Wales came up with, but they will still need more in their next two games.
I'd love to see them build on this victory by going out and blowing Georgia away this weekend. That would send a message to the Georgians ahead of another World Cup meeting in France next year and would be good for confidence.
“Wales just took the fight to the Pumas and got the better of them”
The final game against the Wallabies, even though they lost in Italy, is going to be another tough one because they will come with nothing to lose . If Wayne Pivac can emerge with three wins out of four, then it will have represented a good international window. Anything less will still leave question marks about the coach and his team hanging in the air.
One thing I have to agree with Pivac on is the level of rugby his players have been subjected to in the build-up to the Autumn Nations Series. The URC in the early stages of the season is not of a high enough standard to prepare the players for a first-up game against a team like New Zealand.
On top of that, many of the games they played were Welsh derbies. They don't need to be playing against each other, they need more matches against full-strength teams like Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Stormers. That is the only way they will be battle hardened for games against southern hemisphere sides coming off a Rugby Championship. At least they will be able to go into the Six Nations with some top level European matches, although with three of the four regions in the Challenge Cup who knows what standard they will face.
The Professional Rugby Board needs to address not only the crying need for better prepared and competitive regional sides. It also needs to find a second tier beneath that to ensure the younger players are playing a proper level of rugby. Then maybe, just maybe, the national coach won't have to moan about the standard of the players he picks when he brings them into a Wales camp.
While sympathising with Pivac, I also understand the argument from the regional side. If we can't play our best players in the right matches, then how are we expected to become more competitive? Some serious heads need to be cracked to find a collective solution.
There has to be a way forward that suits both parties. Pivac has been on both sides of the fence and knows better than most where the pinch points are in this argument. Perhaps he could sit down with the four regional coaches and Nigel Walker and help to thrash out a solution. We don't need any more undertones of criticism of the regions by the national coach, nor do we want the regions scuppering the efforts of the national team. So, please just get it sorted!
Winning this week was important for the morale and credibility of Welsh rugby. Argentina were ranked two places above us and would have expected to beat us. They didn't!
That was down to a much improved attitude from the Welsh players and greater clarity in what they were trying to do. Everywhere you looked you could see that partnerships had greater understanding and more purpose.
Louis Rees-Zammit slotted in well at full back, although I'd much rather see him playing on the wing. We have to find a way to create more chances and opening for the likes of Louis, Josh Adams, Alex Cuthbert and Rio Dyer. Then we really will be in business.
At least everyone was able to leave the stadium with a smile on their face. More of the same over the next two weeks please!
