By Graham Thomas
There are some words in sport that can really hurt.
One of them was uttered by a French rugby pundit last Friday night, moments after Wales had succumbed to a 43-0 defeat in their opening Six Nations match against France.
“Harmless” was how he described Warren Gatland’s side. Harmless!
Like a small dog with a bark much worse than its bite, like a child with a little water pistol, like a weak, wintry sun that is never going to burn anyone . . . harmless.
Is there any more damning description of a rugby team?
Yes, Wales were tryless and pointless. But harmless? Really?
Yet, it’s a perfect, succinct description of watching Wales flit from one touchline to the other through a series of mini rucks, the ball whipped wide by Tomos Williams, the attack going far more sideways than forwards, the threat to France, negligible.
Italy can claim their first-ever back-to-back victories against Wales in the Six Nations https://t.co/mywjDLC2Zf
— TBR Rugby (@tbrrugby) February 5, 2025
Harmless.
Ruck won, ball moved infield – always behind a midfield runner (who, exactly, is that meant to be fooling?) – tackle taken, and then the process repeated back the other way.
As repetitive and soothing – and harmless – as watching small waves breaking on the sand.
Gatland described the performance – as “not entirely a bad day at the office”, a remark so brazenly out of step with the feelings of most supporters who’d spent a few hundred quid to get to Paris, that The Guardian decided to use it as their headline.
It seems that as the defeats stack up – 13 now in succession – Gatland’s capacity for finding tiny straws to grasp knows no bounds.
His assistant, Jonathan Humphreys – a good coach having to try and build a pack from straw men – was saying much the same thing in midweek.
Having arrived in Nice in the south of France, Humphreys was asked to give his verdict on the seven tries to nil defeat.
Josh Adams Admits Winless Wales’ Trip To Rome Has Massive Significance
No-one can accuse these players of not trying, he said, or words to that effect.
To continue the harmless yapping dog analogy – this team might be puny and struggle to get its jaws around anyone’s ankle without being flicked away, but at least it can bark.
The former Wales captain added: “When you are in a situation like we are, it’s easy to talk about a game being ‘must win’.
“We know all that – it’s about trying to get the players to focus on what we can control.
“We can’t control the press and what is said about us. All we can do is find something that we are going after, that we are hanging our hat on, something we can improve on from the last game.”
It might seem as if it can’t get much lower than this for Wales, but it can.
They could very well lose for the 14th time in a row when they face Italy in Rome on Saturday.
If they do, then they could well drop lower than their current place of 11th in the world rankings, below Georgia – a team which is regularly told they are not good enough to be allowed into the Six Nations.
The Azzurri have won two of their last three encounters with Wales and will view this as a golden opportunity to claim another scalp.
They play with passion and physicality, and they have grown in confidence, firstly under former coach Kieran Crowley’s leadership, and more recently with Gonzalo Quesada in charge.
Wales, on the other hand, look devoid of direction and belief – reflected in those drifting, punchless attacks they produced in Paris.
If Wales are to turn things around, it starts with clarity in selection. The squad is in transition, with young players being blooded alongside veterans, but there needs to be consistency in selection to allow combinations to develop.
Too often, there have been wholesale changes from game to game, preventing any real cohesion.
The forward pack must step up. Humphreys has spoken about the importance of controlling what they can and improving execution. That starts in the set piece.
Italy will attack the breakdown with intensity, and Wales must be prepared to match them physically while ensuring their discipline remains intact. Giving away cheap penalties in Rome will be a recipe for disaster.
Given Wales’ recent record, it is no surprise that Italy are clear favourites with bookmakers, DragonBet.
They make the hosts 4/9 to repeat their win in Cardiff last year, with Wales at 12/5.
You can get Wales at 8/11 with a generous 8.5 points start.
Generous? Only if Wales find a way to be something other than harmless.
