“That was just a little warm-up” - Jonny Clayton sends warning after new-look Wales win first World Cup test without Gerwyn Price

Jonny Clayton says Wales have only just started after he and Nick Kenny made a winning start to their new World Cup of Darts partnership in Frankfurt.

With Gerwyn Price absent, Clayton and Kenny opened Wales’ Group C campaign with a 4-1 win over Lithuania, recovering from the loss of the opening leg before finishing with a perfect four from four on the doubles.

Clayton took out 146, Kenny pinned double 20 for a key break, and the new-look Welsh pairing cleared the first test of a tournament that began with immediate scrutiny around the two-time champions.

“To be fair, there is more to come from us,” Clayton said in his post-match press conference. “That was just a little warm-up and hopefully we can prove this is the first of many this weekend.”

Kenny’s call-up came after Price’s withdrawal, leaving Wales without one of darts’ biggest names and placing immediate focus on how the new partnership would hold up in Frankfurt.

Clayton said there had been no uncertainty over Kenny once the change was made. “After Gezzy pulled out, I knew my mate was Nick Kenny,” Clayton said. “I had no qualms about it at all because I knew this guy can play darts.”

Kenny did not pretend the build-up had been quiet. Wales were no longer fielding their two highest-profile options, while Rob Owen had also remained in the selection picture before the final places were settled. “At the end of the day, I feel sorry for the Welsh fans in a way because their best two are not in it,” Kenny said. “But I am the next one in, and what more can I do? I am just here and I am privileged to be here.”

On the Owen situation, Kenny added: “I said: ‘Rob, if you get to the final, you deserve to go.’ If Rob got to the final, then fair enough, he is in. If I am not higher than him in the rankings, he deserves it. That is how I think.”

Asked whether the pressure of that debate had stayed with him, Kenny laughed: “I do not give a monkey’s. I am here! It is a privilege.”

Kenny also admitted the World Cup stage felt very different from his previous experience of representing Wales outside the PDC system. “This is a different kettle of fish,” he said. “No disrespect to the WDF system, I was doing well towards the end of my days in the WDF and ended up number one. But this is different. I went from being a big fish in a small pond to a tadpole in a massive pond. Now it is just a privilege to be given a chance and to play with this man. He is class.”

Clayton’s response summed up the mood between the pair. “That is why I love this guy,” he said. “He says the honest truth. He is brilliant.”

Clayton’s strongest praise came for Kenny’s passion in the Wales shirt. The debutant’s reaction after taking out double 20 showed how much the occasion had carried into the match, and Clayton said that emotional edge was exactly what he expected from his new partner.

“I enjoyed every second of it,” Clayton said. “Like I said in the interview before, you will not get a more passionate bloke than this man. Fantastic. When he sticks on that Wales shirt, it means everything to him. So there are two of us in the Wales team now. When we put this on, it is everything.”

Kenny also admitted the win meant more because it came alongside Clayton. “It meant everything,” Kenny said. “To do it with Jonny is even better. I thought I played all right. The 82 showed a lack of zing in the game a little bit, but as soon as we got back to 1-1, the boss took over and the finishing was class. We were solid. There is more to come from us, definitely.”

That 82 finish was one of the moments Kenny picked out afterwards. Clayton had given him freedom over the finishing routes, and Kenny joked that he was determined not to leave his partner on anything awkward.

“He let me relax all day and all night,” Kenny said. “To be fair, he said: ‘If you want to take the big finish out, take it out. Do your own thing. If you want to leave me double 11 or double three, you leave me that.’ That is exactly what he said to me. I was like: ‘Well, I am not going to leave you double three or double 11.’”

Clayton laughed that the same applied in reverse. “It is the other way around as well, because I probably would not leave you double three,” he said.

Kenny added: “I thought I might leave him 20 on the 82 at one point, but then I went back. The 146 and the 10, I just fancied that top spot. I thought: ‘I am not coming back here.’ This is why he is top 10 in the world, because he is class. Hands down, class. I am just privileged to be here. Happy days.”

Clayton has already won the World Cup twice for Wales, but another title with Kenny would carry its own meaning. “It would mean everything,” Clayton said. “First of all, it would be three stars on our shirt. But to win it with Nick would be fantastic.”

The partnership looked relaxed off the stage as well as on it. Clayton pointed to the pair’s relationship behind the scenes as part of Wales’ opening-night performance.

“This guy is brilliant,” Clayton said. “We have a laugh a minute. We are in the back room laughing and joking. He is one of the boys, and that is what you want. A team is all about how you get on with each other, and we are brilliant.”

Clayton also described the effort to keep Kenny settled before his first World Cup appearance for the PDC version of the Welsh team. “I try to get him relaxed,” Clayton said. “It is like: ‘Come on, Nicky boy, you can do this.’ He goes: ‘Yeah, I am going to try my best.’ And I go: ‘No, do not try your best. You know you can do it.’ Just go up and relax. That is all it is about. You go up and play your own game.”

Wales return to Group C action with the first result banked, a new partnership off the mark, and Clayton already looking beyond a night he described as only a warm-up.