Posted by Some 14 months after the first players reported for a pre-Rugby World Cup training camp last spring, Cymru’s 2023/24 campaign came to an end on Friday morning in Brisbane with a narrow win over the Queensland Reds.
If we as supporters were suffering with rugby watching fatigue, and even the TV coverage could barely get enthused enough to show the game in the UK, then spare a thought for some of those players who have endured training camps in Turkey and Switzerland, the World Cup itself, a full club season and the Six Nations, as well as the post-season tour of Australia.
So, as the players and coaches fly back up from Down Under, what is the state of play? Nine straight test losses, a huge squad overhaul, and a significant injury/unavailability list within that are narratives that can be followed up on, but ultimately they all feed into one thing – building back up to being competitive.
In order to be competitive you need to win, you need to have a quality squad, and you need to have suitable strength in depth. At the moment Cymru are not checking any of those boxes, but there was tentatively encouraging shoots that suggest Warren Gatland’s side can take strides along the road to recovery.
Looking at the summer tour from a personnel point of view there were definitely individuals that put their hands up for future involvement; Archie Griffin was the standout discovery at tighthead, Christ Tshiunza looked at home at lock after recently adding some bulk, Taine Plumtree showed the core attributes of a top quality blindside, and Ellis Bevan and Ben Thomas were composed on their elevation to test level half-backs.
Dewi Lake, Aaron Wainwright and Rio Dyer cemented themselves as now senior members of the squad, while Liam Williams proved some, including myself, wrong about the ability to step back into the international scene from the relative obscurity of the Japanese Rugby League One.
Then on a tactical level there were some promising signs around the offensive game as Cymru went from a quite stale, up-and-down performance in the first test against the Wallabies, to a much more ambitious style of play in the second test and against the Reds where the men in red moved the ball through the hands, threatened the edges and retained possession through phases to build their attack.
As soon as the longest season ever comes to an end though, attention begins turning to the new campaign, with the professional clubs already in pre-season training ahead of 2024/25. A huge 12 months of international rugby is coming up and the small matter of a British & Irish Lions tour waits at the culmination of it.
Gatland’s side are majorly on the back foot with the losing streak becoming a real monkey on the back, dropping out of the top ten in World Rugby’s rankings, and few, if any, Welshmen being named in predicted or personally chosen Lions teams.
With the attacking game on the up though, and the defensive shape largely there but struggling under the weight of regularly ceding possession and territory to the opposition, the work-ons have to be at the set piece. The lineout was again under immense pressure in Australia, and in transition the men in red are struggling to recover possession when tactically kicking and failing to take advantage of any turnover ball.
What will undoubtedly assist Cymru in that progression is consistency in selection, with a concern lingering over the summer that no matter the performances of individuals, or the growth of combinations in key areas of the field, when the Autumn Internationals roll around it will be a drastically different side that takes to the field at the Principality Stadium.
Looking at the side which finished the tour against the Reds, I’d suggest that only Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkins, Rio Dyer, Dewi Lake and Tommy Reffell could be very confident of a spot in a matchday 23. Elsewhere the likes of Ryan Elias, Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Josh Adams and Liam Williams could all come back in.
On top of that it is clear that Gatland still is not set on a centre partnership, seemingly unclear on how to best utilise Mason Grady and who to play alongside him.
All-in-all it remains a tough spot for this Cymru side. Legitimate concerns linger around young players falling into the habit of losing and the ability to learn and grow within the current national team environment. Especially with winning in the club game at a premium thanks to the mis-management of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Light is at the very end of the tunnel, and after this summer we have started to travel through said tunnel. I probably won’t be playing the game you do as kids though, holding your breath when driving through a tunnel, as it could be some time before we are coming out the other side, if we do at all.
The Autumn will likely be the starkest indicator yet of progress; as a team building towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup, if we can be competitive before then, and if Warren Gatland is the right man to lead this whole project. Time is ticking, and patience is wearing, but there’s just about enough evidence of development to cling on to…
…for now.
Cardiff Rugby Life 