Wales have had a tough Six Nations so far, losing all three games – including a 31-7 thrashing by Ireland.
With Italy starting to pick up results, there is a real possibility that we see a repeat of Italy’s 2022 defeat of Wales in Cardiff.
But are Wales really as bad as their results suggest?
The short answer is no.
Wales have gone through a huge turnover of players and have one of the youngest squads in the tournament, even captain Dafydd Jenkins is just 21.
Gone are the players like Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit and Leigh Halfpenny.
In fact only seven players from their starting 15 against Argentina at the World Cup started against Scotland.
This change in personnel means that Warren Gatland’s side have a bit of respite this year, and they have still shown signs of life.
Wales nearly pulled off one of the most memorable comebacks ever against Scotland and took England right to the final whistle at Twickenham.
As most teams inevitably were or will be, they were dispatched with ease by Ireland but that result still leaves them without a win.
However, Wales are a team that often have their best moments in the face of adversity.
The Scotland game is one example, but some of Wales’ and Gatland’s crowning glories have come the year after a dire Six Nations.
In 2007, Wales finished fifth with just one win to their name and even lost to Italy, yet the next year they won a Grand Slam.
In 2011, Wales finished fourth in the Six Nations before once again winning the Grand Slam the following year.
The same thing happened in 2021, this time under Wayne Pivac, before Gatland returned to a side floundering after just three wins in 2022.
This should not be an effective model for success, yet somehow they almost seem to thrive when winning seems most unimaginable.
As it stands Wales are in one of their low ebbs, but we will almost certainly start to see an upturn in results as the team begins to gel.
This year has come too soon, but the youth of this Wales team combined with Gatland’s Six Nations nous could mean we see a very different side turn up in 2025.
It may be jumping the gun to say that they will be Grand Slam winners, but history shows we can expect to see a better showing than this year.
Featured Image: Jeff Djevdet on Flickr licensed under CC BY 2.0 DEED
