With the game moved to Clifton in Bristol due to a waterlogged pitch at Rodney Parade, Wales found themselves 20-0 down at half time but fought back superbly after the break.
Oli Edwards and Jonathan Howard both crossed for second half tries with Gareth Thompson booting 10 points. Sadly though, it was not enough to prevent a 27-20 defeat.
But after a stirring 35-17 win away to Germany and a valiant performance against England, Davey is looking at the positives.
“Compared to last year, which was the first time the team had existed since 2004, the coaches have had a lot more time with the players. This has been to the benefit of them and the team,” he said.
“Chris Ower and James Chapron have done the majority of the coaching and have seen the boys make huge strides.
“If it hadn’t been for a poor first 15 minutes, the game against England was one we could and perhaps should have won.”
The first quarter of Sunday’s encounter saw England race clear as they used their forwards to dominate the game. Referee Cammy Rudkin repeatedly penalised Wales at scrum time and ran out of patience to award England a penalty try inside five minutes.
England soon added a second – Simon Hammersley finishing off a midfield break and with Sam Katz kicking both conversions and two penalties, his side boasted a comfortable lead at the interval.
Davey’s side refused to give up though and backed by some vocal Welsh support, they set about getting back into the game.
Thompson struck two early penalties to give them hope and with England down to 14, Wales looked like getting on top.
But on the hour mark, England pulled further clear when wing Michael Pope crashed over in the corner. Katz continued his excellent form with the boot and England led 27-6.
As Wales showed against Germany though, they know how to score tries and grabbed two late scores to frighten England.
Edwards crashed over after the Welsh forwards battered the English line with phase after phase before replacement hooker Howard added a second.
Thompson converted both scores but it was not enough to secure the win.
Davey added: “The second half saw us play some great stuff and hopefully the confidence the boys will take from that will be huge going forward.
“There has been lots of improvement this season and that should help our future preparation.”
