Gatland's Wales heading for a red rugby revolution? Don't you believe it!

Like any other self-respecting Welsh rugby fan, I wasn’t so much bothered about the quality of last Saturday’s performance at Twickenham as the result.

But now that the euphoria of that shock 26-19 victory over England’s World Cup finalists has subsided, I’m honest enough to admit that for the first hour or so, we were a shambles. In fact, it’s hard to remember a worse Wales performance – or certainly one where we lost the ball in turnovers so many times.

I almost turned my television off at half-time because I was convinced England were heading for 50 points. They were 16-6 ahead – and should have had at least twice as many points as they actually did.

Had Paul Sackey’s ‘try’ been allowed, it would have been game over at 23-6, assuming Jonny Wilkinson had pumped over the conversion. But the video ref’s lengthy deliberations ended with him deciding the dusky wing maybe, just maybe, was held up on the line by Huw Bennett.

Personally I think the decision was right because there was no conclusive evidence that Sackey grounded the ball. But I think it’s a fair bet he did…though it was a bit rich for him to claim England should have been given the benefit of the doubt. When in doubt, the defending side must surely prevail.

So Wales have finally won at HQ after fully two decades. But is there ANY real reason to celebrate? It is clear that new coach Warren Gatland and his sidekick Shaun Edwards have as much work to do as any of their predecessors were faced with on appointment – if not more.

There were so many mistakes in that shambolic first 40 minutes that it should now be a case of back to basics. England restarted where they left off in the World Cup – and David Strettle’s early scything run through a handful of would-be tacklers brought visions of disaster. Fortunately for Wales, the blond bombshell went off injured moments later and even though his replacement, human volcano Lesley Vainikola, looked a mountain of Tongan menace, his threat was of a totally different kind.

England can justifiably complain that injuries disrupted their battle plan. They also lost Lewis Moody and his replacement Tom Rees by half-time, then were deprived of Mike Tindall’s power in midfield as Wales started to grind their way back.

But why they disintegrated completely in the final quarter, I have no idea. After Mike Phillips’s try had put Wales ahead for the first time, they were so dominant that England never looked like getting out of their own 25 after that, let alone scoring.

Indeed, had Wales not chosen to go for further scores rather than turn the screw territorially, the margin of victory might easily have been greater. By now, England were clueless…arguably even worse than Wales had been in the first half.
So what happens next? Wales face Scotland this weekend with lock Alun Wyn Jones ruled out with an ankle and flanker Jonathan Thomas remains doubtful that 13th-minute knockout blow by Wilkinson.

But scrum-half Dwayne Peel is available after missing the England win, though I’ll be surprised if Phillips doesn’t keep his place. Gatland is likely to start with Ian Evans replacing Jones - and has also called Cardiff Blues second-row Deiniol Jones into the squad.

Should Thomas also be unable to play, Alix Popham – who replaced him at Twickenham - is likely to start at No.8, with captain Ryan Jones moving to blind-side flanker.

If you look at last weekend’s results, then Wales are red-hot certs to tame a Scotland team who always looked second-best against reigning champions France.

But France have beaten them too many times in the past as underdogs for me to believe Gatland’s men will coast to a second Six Nations win. In fact, much as I want Wales to win, on past experience it will actually SURPRISE me if they don’t come a cropper.

Now that’s what I call patriotism!

Can Wales win the RBS Six Nations Championship this year - or indeed the Grand Slam? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.