It’s a tough time being a Welsh Rugby supporter, the National team have won just two games out of a possible eight games this year in Wayne Pivac’s first season in charge, a huge decline for a team that were ranked number one in the World just 15 months ago. It’s not much better on the regional front either, with the four regions winning just a combined total of just 10 games out of a possible 25 in the Guinness Pro14 this season. On the face of it these stats make grim reading, but despite this I believe there are a number of reasons to be positive about Welsh Rugby.
Wales Winning Ugly…
International rugby is a results business and two from eight wins this year isn’t good enough for a team like Wales. Wales’ two victories this year have come at home to Italy in February and then against Georgia at Parc Y Scarlets on Saturday, two games in which they were huge favourites to win. Sandwiched in between that have been six defeats, two against Ireland, two against France and losses away to England and at home to Scotland.
Wales would have been delighted to finally end a run of six losses with their victory over Georgia on Saturday and will hope to use that as a platform to build off ahead of Saturday’s huge task against England. Despite Wales’ win on Saturday being against a tier 2 nation it showed that Wales could win ugly under Pivac. Towards the last few years of Warren Gatland’s reign Wales were the masters of winning ugly and grinding out results despite not always playing well.
There have always been questions about whether a team coached by Pivac would be able to do this with Pivac coming into the Wales set up having the reputation of a coach who likes to play free flowing attacking rugby from anywhere but sometimes struggling to see his team grind out results in tough conditions. Wales will take confidence from winning ugly and getting their first win in nine months but know they face a huge challenge on Saturday coming up against England who arguably the form team in World Rugby on current form.
Regions showing positives…
As previously mentioned, the regions have won just 10 out of a possible 25 league games this season so it may look bizarre including them in a list of reasons to be positive, but some of the recent performances against tough opposition have brought some optimism to the Welsh domestic game. I’ll begin by looking at the Scarlets who finished as Wales’ top team last season. It was a tough start for the Llanelli based side with 2 losses to start the season, but they have turned it around in recent weeks picking up 3 wins from their last five games despite missing a huge number of players through injuries and international callups. A win in Galway last week against Connacht before narrowly losing to an unbeaten Ulster in Belfast on Sunday shows they have turned the corner in recent weeks and can really challenge for a Play Off Spot this season under new coach Glenn Delaney.
Moving on, the Ospreys suffered their worst campaign ever last season winning just two games all campaign and having coach Allen Clarke depart two months into the season in bizarre circumstances. This campaign has been a fresh start for the Ospreys with a new coaching staff joining the region. Experienced English coach Toby Booth has joined as head coach, with Clermont Auvergne legend Brock James joining the coaching staff as backs coach. This season has already proved to be a more successful campaign than the last with the Swansea based side picking up three wins already this season, more than the entire 2019/20 season. Some exciting signings coupled with stars like Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and George North on their books mean that the Ospreys have every reason to be positive with a fresh start this campaign.
The Cardiff Blues have impressed this season, despite not always having results go their way. The Blues, like the Scarlets and Ospreys have won 3/7 games this season which would suggest the team hasn’t been playing well which couldn’t be further from the truth. The capital city team’s four losses have come away to Munster, Edinburgh and Leinster, with a ‘home’ defeat at Rodney Parade to Ulster. All four of these sides reached the Pro14 Semi Finals last year so there’s no shame in coming up short against quality opposition. Cardiff Blues have one of the most exciting backlines in the Pro14 and with a pack that’s impressed this season I would be surprised if they’re not competing for a playoff place this season.
Finally on the regional front, It’s been difficult to judge the Dragons this season having only played four games due to Covid cases in the squad, with one win coming against Zebre along with losses to Irish giants Leinster, Ulster and Munster but if they kick on from last season where they massively improved under Dean Ryan then it’s sure to be another year of growth where they can hopefully move up the league table and gain Champions Cup qualification for a second consecutive season.
Young Players…
Perhaps the biggest positive for Welsh Rugby is the number of talented young players who are currently playing for the four regions and clubs in England. James Botham, Shane Lewis Hughes, Kieran Hardy, Louis Rees Zammit, Callum Sheedy, Ioan Lloyd and Johnny Williams who are all 24 or under have made their Welsh debuts this Autumn as well Sam Parry who is a few years older at 27.
There are also countless Welsh players performing well in the Guinness Pro14 who will be in contention for Welsh selection over the next few years. Young backs Mat Protheroe and Keiran Williams have reignited an Ospreys backline that has struggled for tries in recent seasons, Wales U20’s skipper Jac Morgan has been hugely impressive in the backrow for the Scarlets, making 30 tackles in last weeks victory at Connacht along with young fly half Sam Costelow who impressed for Wales U20’s in the Six Nations and off the bench for the Scarlets. Cardiff Blues have seen Owen Lane back to his best after injury while Jarrod Evans continues to impress. While at Rodney Parade the Dragons have seen Ashton Hewitt and Ollie Griffiths continue to improve. All four regions keep producing talented youngsters, all of which will be in the conversation for Wales callups sometime before the next RWC, which is a huge positive for all parties and is reassuring that the current structure is working in Wales.
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