Wales ‘desperate’ for win to avoid history tag

Summer tour second Test: Japan v Wales

Venue: Noevir (Misaki Park) Stadium, Kobe Date: Saturday, 12 July Kick-off: 06:50 BST

Finally it will be over this weekend in Kobe.

The beleaguered Welsh rugby men’s season will finish in this bustling Japan city. The end cannot come quickly enough.

We thought last year was approaching rock bottom but the game in Wales has continued to sink.

No Test victory in nine games so far this season has extended Wales’ miserable sequence to a record 18 defeats.

That run has seen Wales slip to a record low of 14th in the world rankings with head coach Warren Gatland leaving in February and, as yet, no permanent successor appointed.

No success on the field, little guidance or direction off it.

Wales have one final chance to salvage something on Saturday by drawing the series with Eddie Jones’ Japan following the 24-19 loss in Kitakyushu last weekend.

A new line has already been written in the history of Welsh rugby this week.

On Wednesday, the British and Irish Lions faced Brumbies in Canberra with no Welsh player in the matchday squad because Jac Morgan, the sole player flying the flag in Australia, was not included.

The previous time that happened on a Lions tour of Australia, New Zealand or South Africa was way back in 1899. There was a precedent, albeit one that is 126 years old.

This weekend, however, there could be an unwanted first.

Another Japanese victory would make it 19 successive international defeats for Wales, which would be a new record losing streak for a tier-one nation.

This Wales class of 2023-2025 would surpass the record set by France between 1911 and 1920.

France are a tier-one nation now but were not properly considered as such when their nine-year losing sequence occurred.

If you were wondering, the overall losing record for any rugby nation stands at 22 straight defeats, for Singapore between 1986 and 1997.

If Wales can finally stop the rot, they will be celebrating a first Test win in 644 days, since the World Cup victory against Georgia in Nantes in October 2023.

Young players are bearing the brunt of the criticism over the losing run, while interim head coach Matt Sherratt has been questioned about his selections.

Sherratt says he will return to his Cardiff day job next week but has one final game in charge.

When asked what he would want to tell the Welsh nation about how the Wales squad are feeling, Sherratt become emotional.

“It is hard to put into words,” he said.

“They are desperate, desperate to do well for everybody back home. When you are in the bubble, you do not realise how pleased your family and your friends are for you. It’s why you do it.

“The fine line is when you are so desperate and want to win so much, you can be over emotive. It’s about trying to get them in the right space for Saturday.

“It is going to be a balance over heart and brain. There is not a team that wants to win more than this group of players. Let’s hope we get the balance right between quality and desperation on Saturday.”

Before leaving for Japan, Sherratt brought in Wales football boss Craig Bellamy and former rugby international-turned-adventurer Richard Parks to try to inspire the squad by showing them the Welsh rugby team still matters.

“They talked about what it meant to represent Wales and you could see it resonated within the group,” said Sherratt.

“Craig opened up by saying what a privilege it was to be sat in front of a Welsh rugby team and saying wherever he went in the world as a football coach, everybody talked about Welsh rugby.

Wales have made the two-hour bullet train ride to Kobe from Kitakyushu.

Home of the famous Kobe beef, this is a bigger city where you could be forgiven for not knowing there was an international rugby game going on this weekend.

One thing that has not changed is the heat and humidity. Wales will face more intense conditions when the Noevir Stadium roof is shut, with temperatures potentially reaching 35C and feeling hotter.

There was searing sunshine in Kitakyushu last Saturday, with the opening match of the series kicking off in mid-afternoon and players losing up to 4kg in weight.

Players were wearing caps of ice to try to cool down, while Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau will miss the second Test after he suffered “heat-related cramping” in the first.

The Kitakyushu conditions meant World Rugby mandated three-minute water breaks in each half and an extended 20-minute half-time interval.

Those measures will be repeated this weekend, with the roof blocking out the sunshine but presenting issues of high humidity and a slippery ball.

Wales say they are not using the conditions as an excuse, while Japan coach Jones labelled it “ironic” there was a debate surrounding Wales and a roof being closed.

A victory would provide some much-needed relief for Wales’ players, coaches and supporters.

But ultimately it would not change the directionless mess Welsh rugby finds itself in.

This tour has seen Cardiff boss Sherratt take caretaker charge and bring in temporary backroom staff like Danny Wilson, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Rhys Thomas, who will all return to their clubs after their summer exertions.

New Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) director of rugby Dave Reddin will appoint a permanent head coach soon after the tour ends.

Wherever you look, fires are burning, with no indication they will be put out any time soon. The Welsh game is in disarray.

WRU chief executive Abi Tierney is in Japan before travelling next week to Australia, where she will attend World Rugby meetings while watching the Lions.

Tierney and chair Richard Collier-Keywood have to settle the domestic game crisis, with discussions continuing about the possibility of reducing the number of professional sides from four to three or even two.

There are financial reasons at the heart of that debate along with the need to arrest the alarming decline of the Welsh men’s side. The two almost go hand-in-hand.

Any revolutionary decision could end up in some sort of acrimony and possible legal battles.

The WRU is targeting a resolution by September, but the lack of public transparency and detail on future plans so far has caused concern.

Any information vacuum in Welsh rugby will always be filled and rumours are rife.

Players and coaches are anxious about their jobs while French and English clubs are circling, even around people who are under contract.

Scarlets forward Vaea Fifita has gone to Montauban, the young Welsh lock James Fender is in line to join Grenoble from Ospreys.

Supporters are left wondering if their team will disappear in the next couple of years.

Some fans are already fed up with hearing about this latest crisis and are talking about walking away from supporting Welsh rugby.

This once proud sport in Wales faces genuine issues of apathy and is heading towards obscurity unless the demise is halted.