Sean Lynn did not sugar-coat his verdict after Wales crashed to a humiliating 44-12 defeat against Italy, sealing a Wooden Spoon finish and exposing deep flaws within the team’s ability to compete at international level.
Despite leading 12-10 at half-time in Parma, Wales were dismantled after the break, conceding 34 unanswered points.
Italy ran riot with five second-half tries, leaving Wales winless and bottom of the Women’s Six Nations table for a second consecutive year — a historic low.
It also means that between them, the two senior Wales national teams have played 10 Six Nations games across two tournaments and lost them all.
Lynn, brutally honest in his post-match assessment, made it clear that Wales’ problems run deeper than results alone.
“I just think work rate from everyone needs to improve, and we’re not skilful enough at international level at the moment,” said Lynn.
It was a damning but accurate reflection after Wales failed to manage the basics.
Poor discipline — 18 penalties conceded — and a lack of precision at key moments allowed Italy to dominate territory and possession after the break.
“In the second half, Italy played more of a territorial game and we (were punished) for our discipline,” Lynn admitted.
“I said it before the game, you can’t play international rugby, giving 18 penalties away, and we just didn’t adapt to the referee in the second half at the breakdown.”
Early signs had been positive, with Kate Williams and Gwenllian Pyrs scoring tries either side of an Italian effort from Sofia Stefan.
But once the second half began, Wales had no answers.
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Michela Sillari’s penalty tilted momentum towards Italy, and tries from Francesca Granzotto (twice), Silvia Turani, Vittoria Minuzzi and Aura Muzzo ruthlessly exposed Welsh frailties.
Natalia John’s yellow card for a high tackle only added to Wales' late collapse.
Lynn inherited a team already dealing with instability off the field — a drawn-out departure for his predecessor Ioan Cunningham and the contract negotiations saga last winter unsettled preparations. Even so, Lynn made no excuses for how far short his players fell.
“I knew it was going to be a difficult job,” said Lynn. “And the lack of time I had (with the players), but it’s been a very valuable experience for me, the learnings I’ve had.
“It’s tough (earning just one point from the Championship), I’ve taken a lot of learnings from it and where we need to be going, heading into the World Cup and I’ve said to the group of players and staff, we will be looking to change and we will be working hard in that preseason (going into the World Cup).”
The scale of the rebuild is now brutally clear. Wales are not only short on winning habits — they are short on the fundamental skills needed to survive at the top level.
Lynn’s comments point to a hard reset ahead, with no illusions about the steep climb required to make Wales competitive again.
