Posted by By this point everyone knows where Welsh rugby was and where it now finds itself, so it shouldn’t be condescending or disrespectful to celebrate a brave loss for Cymru on Saturday.
Of course there’s an element of not wanting to normalise losing, ultimately the players, coaches and supporters want to win every match they go into, but when you’re in the doldrums then any chink of light must be held on to.
So much of the performance against Scotland was encouraging for Steve Tandy & co; the attack looked dynamic and enjoyed playing at tempo, the set piece was very solid on a first outing without Adam Beard at the helm, some of the scramble defence kept the home side in the contest and the kicking game provided field position and a platform to play off.
Particularly in attack, where Dan Edwards has been performing at a good level but just has not quite clicked with what Matt Sherratt wants to do with a second playmaker at 12, Sam Costelow looked a lot more comfortable in the system and assured in guiding his team around. Width was played to when required and that opened up the forwards to set up some pick-and-go sets around it.
Perhaps most impressive personnel-wise was Tandy accidentally stumbling across an ideal back row. Taine Plumtree had started the encounter well with a strong carry and a back try saving tackle on Kyle Steyn, but his unfortunate injury departure paved the way for James Botham to return to the test arena, slotting in alongside Alex Mann and Aaron Wainwright.
Between them they made 36 carries, 50 tackles and won three turnovers as they found a great balance between hold-up tackles and jackal threat, mixed up the carrying and link play well and covered the length and breadth of the pitch as three quick and athletic players to match their power games.
Of course it wasn’t all ticks in the positive column, there were areas of the game where improvements are still required and learning needs to be done. It doesn’t need me to underline the issues with the Darcy Graham try, but something for Tandy to consider is how Cymru overcome the defensive line issues whereby narrowness is a killer.
It seems that the men in red are petrified of being run over around the fringes of set pieces and through the 10 channel, and as a result are packing that with bodies and leaving themselves suicidally understaffed in the wider areas. Hopefully that back row development will add to the trust of not needing to overcrowd the fringes quite as much.
Looking ahead the next immediate challenge for Cymru is to back up this performance. We’ve seen it a few times over the last 12 months; against Ireland in the 2026 Six Nations, against Japan in the second summer test, against New Zealand in the 2025 Autumn Nations Series, where positive showings have been followed up by tough outings.
And I’m classing England in round one as following the All Blacks because that South Africa fixture was utterly pointless.
That’s not to say Tandy’s side should go to Dublin after the fallow week expecting to win, but they need to remain being competitive. If they can do that and carry some confidence into the final round against Italy then maybe, and stress on maybe, a win could be thought of on Super Saturday.
For now though let’s bask in the positivity created by an excellent crowd in Cardiff that created a great atmosphere at the Principality Stadium, and the performance put on by the players as they provided a timely reminder of the quality that does still exist in the player pool and the potential they could have if given the correct platform.
Cardiff Rugby Life 