By Paul Jones
Warren Gatland admits there is a wooden spoon heading in his direction unless Wales can stop the rot in their Six Nations campaign by winning in Italy.
The 20-10 defeat to England at the Principality Stadium offered little evidence of reasons for Wales fans to be optimistic about the trip to Rome in round four.
Gatland’s team were obdurate and determined, but not much more than that, whilst Italy have been showing signs of clear all-round improvement despite their three defeats.
You have to go back to 2007 for the last time Wales lost their first three games in the championship, and it is 20 years since they last picked up the spoon for finishing bottom of the table.
“The last thing you want is to get a Wooden Spoon and beating Italy has got to be our focus,” said Gatland, who has three Grand Slams to his credit.
Wales now head to Rome to tackle the Italians before completing their championship against France in Paris. Having lost to Italy at home last year, and given the performance of the Azzurri against Ireland, Wales will go into both games as underdogs.
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“Every game in a Welsh jersey is a must win game. We haven’t won a game yet and we will go out there and put pressure on ourselves to win,” said Wales skipper Ken Owens.
“We put a shift in against England and I’m proud that we fronted up. There was a lot of good stuff out there – we gave a massive effort for 80 minutes and we were right in the game throughout.
“We left a couple of opportunities out there and I can’t question the effort of this squad. We are in a rebuilding phase, and we’ve got to rebuild pretty quickly. Our discipline and defensive effort were much better, we stuck to our game plan, but came up short.
“We soaked up a little bit too much pressure in the first half and turned over the ball close to their line three or four times.
Owens has yet to taste victory in his three games as captain and would have been able to point to the trials and tribulations of the row with the paymasters in professional rugby in Wales as a debilitating factor in the build-up to the game. However, he wasn’t going for the sympathy vote.
“The last two weeks have taken their toll for a number of reasons, but we can’t use that as an excuse. A lot of things have gone on, but we drew a line in the sand and now every stakeholder in Welsh rugby has to come together and we have to improve,” added Owens.
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It was a first win for England at Principality Stadium since 2017 and another sign that Steve Borthwick is getting his side moving in a different direction.
Had his skipper, Owen Farrell, been in better kicking form – he missed 10 points with his boot – it could have been a far more handsome win.
“We feel we are getting better and there are bits of it poking through. The more time we spend together, the better we will get,” said Farrell.
“We have to make sure we lay the foundations. We wanted to take another step forward because this is only the start of our journey.
“I thought our attitude was brilliant, especially when things didn’t go for us. We are trying to play the way Steve Borthwick wants us to play and it is different, but we are learning quickly.”
That's now 3 wins in 15 for Wales since the start of 2022. Confidence is at a low ebb. Warren Gatland has to earn his considerable crust to rebuild this side.
Five games to a World Cup opener with Fiji.
What's the plan? What do Wales have to do?
— Owain Jones (@OwainJTJones) February 25, 2023
A trio of tries confirmed England’s second Six Nations victory under Borthwick, as Wales’ miserable championship continued with defeat in Cardiff at the end of tumultuous fortnight.
After a week in which Wales’ Tuesday squad announcement was cancelled, and the threat of players in the country striking remained until late on Wednesday until an extraordinary meeting into the future of Welsh rugby and contract conditions was concluded, Gatland’s charges played with great spirit but no real structure.
Anthony Watson – on his first Test start in two years – Kyle Sinckler and Ollie Lawrence scored tries for the visitors, with England leading for all but four minutes at the start of the second half when Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit scored an intercept try on his return from injury.
In truth, the contest was bereft of much quality, but England held on for a valuable win at the Principality Stadium – a first in the Welsh capital since 2017 – despite skipper Farrell having another off day with the boot.
