Six Nations preview: ‘Desperate’ Wales to ‘struggle again’ as Warren Gatland attempts to rebuild his dynasty
Planet Rugby previews Wales' prospects ahead of this year's Six Nations Championship.
First up in our set of previews ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year’s bottom-placed finishers, Warren Gatland’s Wales.
After what can best be described as an annus horribilis in 2024, Gatland and his troops face a daunting task as they head into this year’s Championship with their backs against the proverbial wall and will be the underdogs in each of their five matches in the competition.
Gatland will be under pressure as he has presided over a woeful run of results, with Wales coming into this year’s Six Nations in a desperate mood as they have lost their last 12 internationals with their last victory registered in 2023.
Last year
Like the entire year, 2024’s Six Nations campaign is something which Gatland and Wales will want to put behind them in a hurry as they struggled from the outset of and continued to underperform throughout the Championship.
Wales had a good run in the 2023 Rugby World Cup before being knocked out by Argentina in the quarter-finals, but made a slow start to their 2024 Six Nations campaign as they battled in their tournament opener in Cardiff against Scotland, who held a 27-0 lead after 43 minutes.
To their credit, Wales launched a stunning fightback but fell just short as the Scots held on for a narrow 27-26 triumph and, in doing so, they claimed a first victory in Cardiff in 22 years.
Gatland and his charges then headed to Twickenham where they were involved in an arm wrestle against England, but just like their opening match, they came up short again as the Red Rose clinched a hard-fought 16-14 triumph.
They then faced the two strongest teams in the Championship and suffered huge defeats against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium (31-7) and France at the Principality Stadium (45-24), which meant they had it all to do as they were winless ahead of the final round of the Six Nations.
Although they were back in Cardiff, against Italy, it wasn’t to be as the Azzurri were dominant for long periods and eventually clinched a 24-21 win which meant Wales had to settle for the wooden spoon after failing to win a single Six Nations Test.
This year
Wales head into this year’s Six Nations with a feeling of desperation as their year went from bad to worse, with them failing to win six further Tests during the remainder of 2024.
They kick off their 2025 campaign with two tough back-to-back away matches, against France at the Stade de France in Paris and Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
While the clash with Les Bleus will be the tougher of those two assignments, they will also be the underdogs against an ever-improving Azzurri side who will be in a confident mood in their backyard.
After that, Gatland’s troops will play their first match on home turf at the Principality Stadium but that will be a tough challenge against the defending champions Ireland before they head to Murrayfield in Round Four to face Scotland.
Wales will then be hoping to finish the Six Nations on a high when they host England in their final match of the campaign in Cardiff on Saturday, March 15.
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Key players
The return of Liam Williams cannot be understated for a Wales team that is starved of international experience. He is comfortably their most capped backline player with 92 previous appearances in the red jersey. Even at 33 years old, he remains a world-class talent and will not only bring much-needed experience to the back-three division but also a dash of flair and game-breaking ability.
For much of his career, the general feeling around Taulupe Faletau is if he is fit, pick him and rightly so. He has set the standard in the number eight jumper for Wales for over a decade now with the only blight on his game being his unavailability for long periods of time. In fact, the last time he pulled on a Wales jersey was at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and there are doubts over whether he will be fit for the opening game against France. Even with Aaron Wainwright starring in his absence, the point still remains, when Faletau is fit, pick him.
A player who fits a similar billing to Faletau is Josh Adams who will also be eager to make his long-awaited return to international rugby. Like his teammate, Adams is such a well-rounded player and much of the team’s previous success has come through his excellent performances whether that be under the high ball, launching a counterattack or finishing off tricky opportunities. There are precious few players that are proven quality at the highest level in Gatland’s squad but Adams is absolutely one of them and if they are to break the losing streak, best believe he will have a huge role to play in that.
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Players to watch
In the absence of Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan will once again lead Wales this international window. The livewire back-rower always gives his all when he pulls on the red jersey and expect no different this Six Nations. A tireless defender, Morgan is outstanding over the ball too and a tidy attacker. He will absolutely be key for Gatland’s charges and not just with his leadership qualities.
Gatland’s squad includes two uncapped players in winger Ellis Mee and fly-half Dan Edwards. Mee has shot to stardom this season with the Scarlets after signing for the club from English Championship side, Nottingham. The speedster possesses a raw pace that will certainly get fans on the edge of their seats and has a really well-rounded game too which equips him well to deal with the demands of international rugby. Meanwhile, Edwards has been in sterling form for the Ospreys and gets a deserved call-up to the squad with Sam Costelow ruled out due to injury.
It would be remiss not to mention the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour with hopefuls given the perfect opportunity to stake their claim for a place in Andy Farrell’s touring squad. So far, many predict that the squad this time around will lack Wales players but one man that could force his way into the conversation is lock Dafydd Jenkins. The 22-year-old has the raw potential to crack the squad and has impressed with his leadership at such a young age. Exeter boss Rob Baxter has tipped the second-rower to represent the touring side, if not now then later in his career, and as far as bolters go, he is a fair shot. A workaholic on defence, Jenkins is also a solid lineout operator and a strong ball carrier. He ticks all the boxes for a modern-day lock.
Prospects
Wales head into this year’s Six Nations on a 12-match losing streak which means they will be under plenty of pressure and a lot will depend on their opening to the campaign against a French side who will be determined to make a solid start to the tournament. If Wales manage to be competitive, they will be full of confidence against Italy in Round Two and if they pull off a win it will stand them in good stead during the rest of the Championship. That is unlikely to happen though and we expect them to struggle again. Sixth.
Fixtures
Friday, January 31 v France (Stade de France, Paris)
Saturday, February 8 v Italy (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Saturday, February 22 v Ireland (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Saturday, March 8 v Scotland (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Saturday, March 15 v England (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)