But they have pledged there will be a backlash against Italy with Wales looking to secure the win they need to finish second in the table. Wales are first up at the Principality Stadium at 2.30pm on ‘Super Saturday’ this weekend.
“For the first 20-25 minutes we weren’t at the races and we gave ourselves too much to do. We were a bit erratic when we had the ball and didn’t earn the right to play – we needed to be much tighter,” admitted Baldwin.
“They blew us away in the first 25 minutes and, as good as we finished, we gave ourselves too much to do. It’s disappointing because we had had a good week’s training and we were really sharp, but we didn’t come out in those first 25 minutes.
“We were always on the back foot in the first 30 minutes and that took it out of us. They were clinical and they won the battle on the gain line. I thought we were unlucky not to have any points in the first half because we finished well, but we weren’t clinical enough.
“It shows the character of the squad that we came back in the end. To come back from 19 points down is difficult to do, but we did score 21 points in the second half and at one stage, when we were creating so many chances, I thought we were going to pinch it.
“But credit to England, they did what they needed to do and finished the game off. England were the better team.
“The good thing about this group is that we are honest. We will learn from this and we won’t have any bones about being told what we did wrong. We need to be a lot better defensively next week because Italy have some real threats out wide.
“We want to out on a real show next week. We will go out to win next week, but now we have a point to prove. That’s something we will take on board and if there is pressure from outside and from the coaches then we will react to that.”
Owens came on t replace Baldwin in the 54th minute when head coach Warren Gatland made a complete change in the front row. The Scarlets skipper made a major impact with his ball carrying and was picked out by Gatland for the impetus he provided to the late rearguard action.
“We came here confident we could get a victory and be possibly playing for a Championship next weekend, but England deserved their victory and good luck to them next week,” said Owens.
“I am not sure what happened in the first hour, but they possibly won the battle of the gain line offensively and defensively, which is where the game is won and lost these days. Warren said at half-time we needed to sort it out and it was only the players that could do that.
“We needed to get some line speed and to put them under pressure. We managed to do that in the second-half, but it was too little, too late.
“It is not like us to miss 19 tackles in the first-half – we only missed 19 tackles in the whole World Cup. We had an off day and good teams like England punish you.
“We have turn up next week and play Italy and put some pride back in the shirt. We will work hard as a squad, like we always do, and finish this championship on a high. We can still finish second and if we can win next week we can finish on a positive note.”
