Wales ended their match against Japan with a 4-try victory, but the mood was far from celebratory. As the clock went red on Saturday, Tomos Williams kicked the ball out with an expression that read as frustrated rather than joyful or relieved. The scoreline suggested a comfortable win, but the performance left a sense of annoyance that a statement display was not forthcoming.
Japan were beaten, and the visitors never really looked like winning, but Wales failed to finish them off. Every try was followed by a mistake, and good ball was kicked away. One fan near the press box rose to his feet and screamed, "Stop kicking the f*****g ball," adding, "Ball in hand, run it." The same message was echoed when Wales cleared their lines under pressure: "What is the f*****g point of that?"
Missed opportunities and fan frustration
Interestingly, when Wales did keep the ball in hand, Blair Murray scampered down the wing to set up Josh Adams' second score. However, the foul-mouthed fan was returning from the bar at that moment, having missed Wales' fourth try of the evening.
The frustration was palpable all around, and the visitors played their part in forging that atmosphere. Wales' biggest weapon, behind Rhys Carre carrying around the 22, is the driving maul, but Japan disrupted Wales' lineout throughout. Early on, Ben Carter and Dafydd Jenkins were already in the ear of referee Paul Williams.
Lineout disputes and referee exchanges
After Japan stole the first lineout of the day and disrupted a maul in midfield, Carter noted, "At that last lineout, they were too close to us." Soon, captain Dewi Lake sought clarity, asking, "Is there anything we need to be better at the lineout?" Williams had few work-ons beyond speeding matters up. "They're getting at our line a lot," added Lake, wondering if it was down to how Williams was allowing Japan's lineout defence to set up.
When Jenkins offered his thoughts, he was quickly shut down. "There's a lot of voices," said the Kiwi official. "Can I just go through Dewi please." Clearly, it was a lesson Wales didn't learn on the day. After Japan crossed for their second try, Carter was the next to get a dressing down. "I need you to start going through Dewi as I'm hearing a lot of voices," said Williams, adding, "I can't chat at every lineout."
Referee's patience wears thin
By the second half, the referee had clearly had enough. "We can't be doing this all the time," he told Jac Morgan, who had taken over the captaincy from Lake. "The captain can come to me. If it's clear, I'll do something. But trust the process. I appreciate you're getting a lot of noise in your ear as well."
Materially, it mattered little in the end. Williams only gave 11 penalties on the day, and only five went against Wales. For all the talk, he was fairly lenient, instead opting to coach the sides in-play at certain points. After Lake was penalised at the breakdown, Williams was clear in his messaging: "Dewi, if I give you quick comms, I expect immediate action. Don't keep holding on." That message did seep in, as moments later Lake came up with a crucial breakdown penalty near his own line.
On the whole, Ben Whitehouse, new in his role as part of Wales' coaching team, will likely have some feedback on Monday, namely to not irritate the referee quite so much.
