The crowd want it and the players have been brought up on it. It’s hard to imagine Welsh lock Bradley Davies, standing at 6ft 6in, ever emulating Williams and co but as a youngster in Pontyclun he started out as a fly-half, probably wanting to do just that.

By 14 he had found his natural position in the second row and by 2009 he had made his debut in the full Welsh jersey.

And on Friday night in the opening night of RBS 6 Nations action for 2011 he was on the wrong side of a 26-19 defeat to England on home soil.

But as much as that hurt, Davies believes something even more painful might be needed to move on from that defeat and be in contention for both this year’s Six Nations crown and the World Cup – some pragmatism in the Welsh attack.

“We made crucial errors at critical times,” said Davies. “We worked hard in the week about taking our chances when they came and we didn’t do that.

“I think sometimes we are too attack-minded you know, when we get into a good position where we should just keep hold of the ball and build phases we always try and score on the first phase.

“That’s the kind of team we are, we are born with that in our blood and we try and score from anywhere.

“But I think with the best teams in the world, as soon as they get into the 22 they usually score.

“We seem to do the job really well when we are defending our own 22 but when we are in the opposition 22 a few errors let us down.

“But that’s the next step now. Converting chances and building a lead.”

Wales’s wastefulness in the Millennium Stadium saw them go down to their first defeat against England on home soil since 2003.

While Davies was quick to point to their trouble converting possession into tries in reality it might have been a heavier defeat, but for some heroic defending.

And the Blues lock believes the Welsh need to start transferring their defensive prowess further up the field, while also emulating New Zealand in their ruthless conversion rate of territory into tries.

“It seems like when we are defending our line we are really composed and really switched on but at the other end we tend to switch off and take things for granted,” he added.

“So that’s the next step, building pressure and when we get into those critical zones make sure we are scoring.

“We need to try and learn from the best. Teams like New Zealand, when they get a chance they score so that’s what we need to aspire to.”

However while Davies believes pragmatism is the way forward the 24-year-old admits coach Warren Gatland will have a hard time changing the attitude of not just the present XV, but the foundation stones of the Welsh game.

“You can’t take away the Welsh principles from us because we’re born with it,” he said. “But it’s about being smarter at certain times.”