Apathy reigns as Welsh rugby accepts new reality

It was a strange sound, the muffled shuffle of 50,000 shrugs.

Argentina had just scored their seventh try against Wales, taking them past 50 points and a record winning margin over their opponents.

There were no boos at the final whistle, no howls of anger. Just the muted tones of apathy.

The Principality Stadium is meant to be a cauldron of noise on matchdays, an intimidating arena which visiting players often describe as the best in the world.

It has not been that way for some time. A once proud rugby nation is on its knees.

National and domestic teams are pitifully underpowered, while off the field the game is gripped by interminable existential crises.

After all, Wales have only won one Test match since 2023, while Argentina can count New Zealand among their conquests this year.

This was Steve Tandy’s first game as Wales head coach, a fresh start of sorts, but the attendance was 50,185 – the lowest for a non-Covid-era game since 2016.

It’s all relative – many sporting entities would love that kind of support – but it is still a sizeable drop from the capacity crowds of close to 75,000 which the Welsh Rugby Union has come to rely on for much of its income.

Whereas sell-outs used to be a given, there is now an acceptance of Wales’ new reality.

And more striking than the empty seats was the way in which that acceptance manifested itself in such a flat and passive atmosphere.

Yes, the volume increased as Wales briefly fought back with two tries to level the score during the first half – but that optimism was short-lived.

You can’t really blame the fans. This was a 10th successive home defeat for Wales, with the two most recent visitors racking up 120 points between them.

Yet as those supporters streamed out onto Westgate Street after the final whistle, much of the chatter was strangely upbeat.

Some were impressed by the sharper looking attack, others encouraged by the brief spells where Tandy’s young charges competed with superior opposition.

But it is a grim state of affairs when conceding 52 points at home – having shipped a record 68 against England on their last outing at this stadium – is considered par for the course for Wales.

Even for a country which has swung wildly from soaring highs to crushing lows throughout its tumultuous rugby history, this is a nadir for the game in Wales.

You would not have known this team were Six Nations champions four years ago; Grand Slam winners and World Cup semi-finalists two years before that.

By now, they are languishing in 12th in the world rankings. Losing has become so routine that people have become desensitised to the humiliation.

Sport keeps us coming back because of the passions it stirs as a compelling form of unscripted drama but, when you know what happens next, the magic disappears.

There will at least be a little jeopardy when Japan – the only team Wales have beaten in the past two years – visit the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

When New Zealand and South Africa roll into town over the following two weekends, however, it is difficult to shake the feeling that those will be another two foregone conclusions.

So when the All Blacks and Springboks inevitably pile on yet more punishing scores, it will likely be the same again in the stands – an air of resignation and a shrug of indifference.