Same old story for sorry Wales in Six Nations

As despondent Welsh fans drove out of Twickenham on Saturday evening, they would not have learned too much from Wales’ 48-7 Six Nations hammering by England.

They already knew Welsh rugby was in turmoil and spiralling dangerously out of control.

They would have expected Steve Borthwick’s side to overpower Wales at the Allianz Stadium. That is, of course, exactly what happened as ruthless England ran in seven tries.

England have won their past 12 Test matches, while Wales have lost their previous 12 Six Nations internationals in a record stretching back to March 2023.

So these are two teams heading in different directions and at a significant speed.

Wales’ passion cannot be questioned, with the players demonstrating afterwards just how much they cared. Wing Josh Adams was close to tears and captain Dewi Lake was honest in his declaration that the side had let both themselves and the nation down.

Wales have produced some woeful performances in a run of 22 Test defeats in 24 internationals since the end of 2023.

This dismal opening 40 minutes against England will take some beating though, as Wales equalled their worst half-time deficit of 29-0, the same score they trailed France in 1998.

“We want to be positive about this young Wales team,” former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar told ITV.

“There’s a new coaching group and staff but the level of performance in that first half was nowhere near the standard for international rugby.”

It was that performance, rather than the result, that most disappointed Biggar.

“We’re not saying Wales should be beating England or France because they are much better sides, but there’s a performance expectation that comes when you put on that red jersey,” he added.

“When you come to places like Twickenham the performance level has to be much better.

“There’s a way to lose and level of performance which Wales fell well short of in the first half.”

Former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees told the Scrum V podcast: “We didn’t fire a shot.

At the heart of the first-half capitulation was the dire discipline that has plagued the Tandy era.

There were four yellow cards against England, with front-row duo Lake and Nicky Smith sin-binned within a minute of each other in the first half.

Cardiff centre Ben Thomas and Scarlets flanker Taine Plumtree were shown yellow cards in the second half as Wales were reduced to 13 players on two occasions.

“Playing against England with 15 men is hard enough, let alone playing the game with 13 men for 20 minutes,” said Tandy.

“We’re not a good enough team to have these big lapses. We’ve got to be more accurate and I’m bitterly disappointed.”

Wales conceded 10 penalties in the first 21 minutes, with 16 yielded in total. That was the most penalties conceded by Wales in a Test since 2009 when they gave away 18 against Ireland.

It has taken the total to 65 penalties in five matches under Tandy, with 10 yellow cards and one red issued.

Wales were under intense pressure but Rees believes some were avoidable.

“It is not possible to play international rugby and concede so many penalties,” said Rees.

It was always going to be a tough start for Tandy in his first job as an international head coach but his first Six Nations game in charge ended in devastation.

After taking over a side in the doldrums, Wales have now conceded 34 tries and 248 points in Tandy’s first five games in charge, which will hurt the former Scotland defence coach.

“I knew when we took the job, it was not going to click overnight,” said Tandy.

“We know where we’re at and it’s part of our journey but even though we’re 11th in the world, we expect more of ourselves.”

One aspect where Tandy could have more support from the WRU is his coaching staff, where he currently only has two permanent members in Matt Sherratt (attack) and Danny Wilson (forwards).

Tandy is an inexperienced national head coach, while Sherratt has been on the Test scene less than a year.

Temporary trio Duncan Jones (scrum), Rhys Patchell (kicking) and Dan Lydiate (defence) were brought in for a second campaign after being involved last autumn.

The latest heavy defeat has again divided opinion on how crisis-ridden Welsh rugby attempts to transform itself.

Welsh players are facing major off-field issues with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) threatening to cut a professional men’s side and Ospreys under threat of disappearing as a top-tier team.

After another embarrassing display this weekend there are some calling for the WRU hierarchy to resign, while others point out the result emphasises why change is needed.

WRU board member and former Wales centre Jamie Roberts outlined the rationale.

“It’s a challenging time, there is a performance and financial problem facing the game in Wales,” Roberts told ITV.

“We made the decision in the best interests of the game in Wales to go to three teams. We want to see Welsh rugby thrive with club and national sides winning again.

“There are complexities how you get there and it’s challenging for fans with uncertainty, but we’re making the best decisions for the interests of the game in Wales medium to long-term.”

Lake refused to use the off-field uncertainty as an excuse for the England debacle but Rees says the problems must be causing concern.

“When people get certainty, you have a start point and we don’t have that at the moment,” said Rees.

France arrive in Cardiff next Sunday with Wales searching for a first Six Nations home win in four years.

The calamitous state of Welsh rugby means the WRU are struggling to sell out their three home games this year, with thousands of tickets still available for next weekend.

Tandy hopes Wales will receive the usual home backing.

“The fans have been amazing support for the team,” said Tandy.

“We know what it means to the boys to play in the Principality Stadium and the fans give them huge belief.”

Whether the Wales head coach will make changes remains to be seen as he balances reacting to an underwhelming display and the need to develop a settled side.

He says there would be no “knee-jerk reaction” and full-back Louis Rees-Zammit appears to have done enough to keep the number 15 jersey.

The former NFL triallist was making his first Six Nations appearance for almost three years and is settling into a new position after switching from the wing.

After a shaky start where he had an early kick charged down, Rees-Zammit settled down and produced one searing second-half break.

“He did well in his first start at 15 in a while for us,” said Tandy.

“In Test match rugby, there’s not much space but I thought he adapted with the aerial battles.

“He’s a big man and lit the game up in moments. It’s looking how we can get more of those moments.”