Aled Biston dissects the team’s performances this campaign
TO say Wales’ performances in the Six Nations this year was disappointing would be an understatement.
Wales finished fifth, beating only Scotland and losing to an Italian side who hadn’t won a game since 2015.
Comparing this to last year, when Wales won the Six Nations, it has been a huge fall from grace.
So where exactly did it all go wrong for Wales?
Team selection
This Six Nations saw Wayne Pivac change his side for the 27th time since his appointment in 2018, that’s at least one change every single game.
The team selection against Italy last weekend gave an impression of arrogance with Pivac making seven changes to the team that put on a good display against France.
Every area of the pitch, apart from the back row, was affected and perhaps rushing players back from injury didn’t help.
Uilisi Halaholo and Alun Wyn Jones were only called up to the Wales squad days before the match and were perhaps put into the starting line-up when they weren’t ready.
It could be seen as a token gesture to put Alun Wyn Jones in to play his 150th game for Wales, but Will Rowlands would possibly have been the better option.
Another player who was certainly unlucky not to play more was Alex Cuthbert. Solid performances against Scotland and England gave Wales fans flashbacks of Cuthbert in 2012, but he was dropped against Italy for Louis Rees-Zammit.
Injuries
Every team faces injuries, but what Wales had to deal with this Six Nations was a coach’s nightmare.
Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric, Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Elliot Dee and Johnny Williams were all injured this Six Nations, that’s nearly 600 caps of experience.
In addition, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi and Uilisi Halaholo came into the squad after injury lay-offs and played only a handful of minutes each during the campaign.
Unlike their competitors, Wales aren’t blessed with depth, and inexperienced international players had to make the step up into what is arguable the most competitive international rugby tournament.
Blaming injuries is never an excuse, but what Wales had to deal with during the Six Nations was an injury crisis far greater than expected.
Not clinical enough
This has been the story of Wales’ Six Nations this year. Time and time again they failed to create chances, and on the rare occasion they did, mistakes meant the chance was gone.
Twice against Italy, one directly after the other, Wales played the ball wide from a line-out only to knock it on.
Passes from Johnny McNicholl and Dan Biggar couldn’t be held by Louis Rees-Zammit and Uilisi Halaholo, both that would’ve resulted in tries for Wales.
Just a week earlier against France, Taulupe Faletau had the ball down the left wing, but a simple pass to Jonathan Davies was wasted as the centre fumbled the ball, snuffing out a golden chance for Wales.
While other teams were creating plenty of chances, Wales seemed to struggle when they got into the final third, either giving away the ball or penalties, and their opponents were handed an easy way out.
After the disappointments, fans are questioning whether Wayne Pivac should remain as Wales coach.
Jon Moore, 53, said: “I think he should go, he hasn’t worked on the international and regional scene like other nations have. It feels like there is no structure to Welsh rugby, the regions and performing poorly and the standard of rugby across Wales is poor.”
With just over a year until the World Cup in France, fans will wonder if Wales can even get out of their group, let alone challenge for the trophy.
