England nightmare still haunts Wales

As despondent Welsh fans drove out of Twickenham on Saturday evening, they would not have learned too much from Wales’ 48-7 Six Nations hammering by England.

They already knew Welsh rugby was in turmoil and spiralling dangerously out of control.

They would have expected Steve Borthwick’s side to overpower Wales at the Allianz Stadium. That is, of course, exactly what happened as ruthless England ran in seven tries.

England have won their past 12 Test matches, while Wales have lost their previous 12 Six Nations internationals in a record stretching back to March 2023.

So these are two teams heading in different directions and at a significant speed.

Wales’ passion cannot be questioned, with the players demonstrating afterwards just how much they cared. Wing Josh Adams was close to tears and captain Dewi Lake was honest in his declaration that the side had let both themselves and the nation down.

It is a heartbreaking but now familiar tale for Wales players and supporters, with little sign of shoots of recovery or any general optimism.

Wales have produced some woeful performances in a run of 22 Test defeats in 24 internationals since the end of 2023.

This dismal opening 40 minutes against England will take some beating though, as Wales equalled their worst half-time deficit of 29-0, the same score they trailed France in 1998.

“We want to be positive about this young Wales team,” former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar told ITV.

“There’s a new coaching group and staff but the level of performance in that first half was nowhere near the standard for international rugby.”

It was that performance, rather than the result, that most disappointed Biggar.

“We’re not saying Wales should be beating England or France because they are much better sides, but there’s a performance expectation that comes when you put on that red jersey,” he added.

“When you come to places like Twickenham, the performance level has to be much better.

“There’s a way to lose and level of performance which Wales fell well short of in the first half.”

Former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees told the Scrum V podcast: “We didn’t fire a shot.

“We did not put our imprint on the game and that is what they will be frustrated about.” 

(BBC sport)