Autumn series 2010 - Week 1

My first experience of being a neutral at Twickenham was a mixed bag.

I never thought I'd enjoy 80,000 or so people singing 'swing low' but the fans desire to drown out the All Black's famous war dance that so often gives them the edge before kick off was, if nothing else, admirable.

I was accused of being 'un-Welsh' as my prediction for the weekend was very much that we'd get 'pumped' and that the gap between northern and southern hemisphere rugby would seem wider than ever; not ideal with less than a year until the world cup.

But I was surprised by England and Wales as they faced next year's respective favourites; and with about 10 points the margin of victory in each game, neither home nation disgraced themselves against their opponents.

So after building up Sonny Bill Williams’ debut on Saturday, there was no way I was going to be anything but disappointed. But to be fair to the boxing, rugby league convert, whilst he didn’t score any tries or break any bones, he brought moments of ‘special’ to the game that only certain players can.

His previous life in rugby’s other code is evident in his effortless one-handed off-loads and his boxing hobby is visible in his incredible physique. So whilst SBW didn’t thrill me on Saturday, I don’t think he’ll miss out on selection against my boys in Cardiff, and who knows, if he doesn’t light up this Autumn series maybe he’ll do a Lomu a la RWC 1995 when the world cup visits his home nation next year.

It did feel slightly wrong being at Twickers as Wales faced the Wallabies back home in Cardiff and it felt even worse when I watched the highlights and saw how close the boys had come to beating them.

There's no question that Wales had an almighty task ahead of them with Australia coming off the back of a great win against their neighbours in Hong Kong a week before, and with the kind of quality they have from 1 to 15, it's no surprise an injury ravaged Wales were written off by many... including myself.

When you have a player like Martyn Williams in your squad, but select a young pretender like Sam Warburton ahead of him there will always be raised eyebrows, but the Cardiff youngster rose to the challenge and proved any doubters wrong and that he truly is a name for the future.

Despite his try, Pockock failed to live up to his billing as one of Australia's biggest threats in the pack; and the world-class back line that many feared would pile the points onto the home side were contained meaning the score line was tight until the finish.

There are calls for Richie Rees, try scoring hero, to start the next few matches especially the 'big one' against the All Blacks at the end of the month. However his impact off the bench was undeniable and if Wales can keep the scoreboard ticking over, whilst putting in another strong defensive effort, rejuvenated by the return of injured players, a win against New Zealand is not out of the question... Not so 'un-Welsh' now!