This was the weekend Welsh rugby found itself once again.
When captain Jac Morgan scored in added first-half time against Ireland on Saturday afternoon, the roof nearly came off Principality Stadium as a sense of unbridled joy and enjoyment – one which has been sorely lacking for Welsh fans in the last year or more – filled the iconic venue.
The atmosphere was electric, something for Wales’ fervent supporters to cheer about at last.
Yes, their team still lost.
And yes, it’s now 15 consecutive Welsh Test defeats.
But the performance delivered against what will surely be the eventual Six Nations champions of 2025 – and possibly Grand Slam winners – showed what Wales can do.
Jac Morgan’s try against Ireland almost lifted the roof off the iconic Principality Stadium
In four training sessions Matt Sherratt has already worked wonders with beleaguered Wales
The performance delivered against the back side in the Six Nations offered plenty of promise
In just four training sessions since being parachuted in to replace Warren Gatland, interim Wales coach Matt Sherratt has already worked wonders.
Under Gatland, both at the end of 2024 and in their first two games of this Championship, Wales were rudderless and lacking any semblance of a game plan or attacking structure.
There was little confidence or belief. It does not reflect well on the coaching of Gatland and his former assistant Rob Howley that things have improved so dramatically under Sherratt’s guidance in the space of barely a week. Wales not only looked a completely different team against Ireland, they looked like they were playing a different game altogether.
Gareth Anscombe wasn’t flashy, but controlled Wales’ back-line from No 10 before being forced off for a head injury assessment. Look what happens when you pick a specialist fly-half. Centres Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn gelled nicely. Llewellyn carried hard and got plenty of touches. Look what happens when you pick in-form players in their best positions.
Wales’ set-piece was solid. Look what happens when you pick scrummaging props.
Nicky Smith and WillGriff John went well, even milking penalties from the Irish scrum.
Sherratt’s speciality as a coach is in attack and he really got a tune out of his players going forward. There were tip-on and pull-back passes at the line from the Welsh pack.
It was a glimpse into Wales might be capable of long-term.
It doesn’t reflect well on Warren Gatland (right) or Rob Howley (left) that the side has improved so quickly
‘There is confidence in terms of the way we played. Just hearing the crowd, I think they all saw that as well,’ said Wales lock Dafydd Jenkins, who impressed up front.
‘We really wanted to show the crowd how much we wanted it in terms of our emotion and how proud we are to play for Wales. Hopefully, we did that.’
The celebrations inside Principality Stadium at the Welsh tries scored by Morgan and Tom Rogers showed how much passion there is for the country’s national game to harness.
At the end of his second tenure, Gatland bemoaned what he saw as negativity in the media coverage of his team. But it says everything that such pessimism has almost instantaneously disappeared now he has moved on. Wales must harness the sense of hope the Ireland game provided. It was not just the country’s senior side.
On Friday night, Wales beat Ireland at Under-20 level for the first time in seven years, showing quite astonishing defensive resilience and no little character to emerge 20-12 winners in the Rodney Parade rain. Wales have now won two of three matches in this year’s junior Six Nations.
One swallow does not make a summer. And one positive weekend won’t cure all Welsh rugby’s ills. But Sherratt and Wales now have something to build on with Scotland in Edinburgh and England in Cardiff to come. All of a sudden, those now look two very interesting games.
Former Wales assistant coach Robin McBryde had declared ahead of the Ireland tie that the game in his homeland had ‘lost its soul.’
Now, perhaps, it is back on the journey to reclaiming just that.
Dafydd Jenkins revealed after the game that there was confidence in the the way Wales played
Had Garry Ringrose been shown a straight red card things might have been different for Wales
Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes hinge on their clash with Antoine Dupont’s France, who scored 11 tries in demolishing Italy on Sunday
Despite his instant impact, Sherratt reiterated post-Ireland he will not be succeeding Gatland permanently. Wales’ search for a long-term coach and director of rugby continues, with the second of those positions likely to be appointed by the end of March. They are big calls for Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney to make.
After being given a real fright in Cardiff and having their nose bloodied by Wales, Ireland did enough to come out on top. However, had Garry Ringrose been shown a straight red – and not a yellow which was subsequently upgraded – for a head-on-head collision with Thomas, then things might have been different.
As it was, the 20-minute red card ruling allowed Ringrose to be replaced by Bundee Aki and moved Ireland back to a full 15.
Aki had a monstrous impact off the bench, while Irish half-backs Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast managed the game beautifully.
It sealed a Triple Crown for the men in green and they should now go on to win a Grand Slam. Their round-four game with France in Dublin is the pivotal tie.
France hammered Italy 73-24 in Rome on Sunday, scoring 11 tries.
But Ireland will be favourites on home turf and with their interim head coach Simon Easterby hopeful of welcoming forwards Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong and Ronan Kelleher – who all missed Wales – back from injury. Ringrose, however, may well end up missing France due to a likely ban.
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Publish date : 2025-02-24 07:58:58
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