It was another bitterly disappointing day for Welsh rugby
It was another dark weekend in Welsh rugby as Wales suffered a heavy 54-12 defeat to France at the Principality Stadium.
It was one way traffic as Wales were yet again ruthlessly put to the sword by a France side who look well placed to win the Grand Slam. To make matters worse it felt like a home game for France with a crowd of just 57,744 in attendance.
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Winners
Aaron Wainwright
The Dragons No 8 was Wales’ best player yet again.
Wainwright made 14 carries and 11 tackles in a spirited display. The explosive No 8 was the only Wales backrower to consistently get over the gainline and is a high quality player operating in a weak team.
If Wales are to stand any chance against Scotland then Wainwright will be central to their efforts.
His move to Leicester Tigers for the 2026/27 season could take his game to a new level.
Eddie James
The 23-year-old had a tough time against England in round one but he was much better against France. James gave Wales some go forward in the second-half while he put in a strong defensive shift.
There was enough about the Scarlets centre to suggest he can kick on as an international centre. But his long-term position at Test level is arguably at inside centre.
There is an argument to suggest Wales currently cannot afford the luxury of a ball player at 12 and need someone to get them over the gainline in the same manner Jamie Roberts used to do in years gone by.
James could be that man.
Dewi Lake and Wales’ set-piece
You wouldn’t have thought it if you just went by the scoreline but Wales’ set-piece was actually pretty good against France.
The lineout malfunctioned badly eight days prior at Twickenham but it was faultless at the Principality Stadium.
Dewi Lake came in for some huge criticism for Wales’ lineout woes in the defeat to England but he was much better this time around.
The scrum was also solid enough.
Losers
WRU
It was a record low for Wales as far as the attendance, with the 57,744 crowd the lowest for a Six Nations match in Cardiff outside of the Covid pandemic.
A drop off in attendance will inevitably hit the WRU’s back pocket and the effects of that will be felt throughout the game, especially at professional level.
The current situation is the direct result of years of underinvestment into the pathway and the four professional teams.
Plans to cut the number of professional clubs from four to three are controversial but there does need to be radical change.
Huge investment needs to be put into the pathway.
Adam Beard
The 30-year-old has been a tremendous servant to the national side and is heavily respected by both players and coaches.
There is a reason Montpellier are paying the former Ospreys lock big money. But this was arguably his poorest performance in a Wales shirt.
Beard missed a tackle he should have made on Théo Attissogbe in the lead up to the first France try.
But after Dafydd Jenkins had done so well to win a turnover Beard inexplicably kicked directly into a French player, resulting in Matthieu Jalibert touching down on the stroke of half-time to take the game away from Wales.
He needs to bounce back quickly.
Wales’ half-backs
Wales lost the kicking game hands down, with both Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards not accurate enough in this regard.
Edwards has not had a good start to the Six Nations and while he is a talented player with a high ceiling he has been exposed defensively over the past couple of weeks.
Yes, it is very difficult playing behind a pack who are getting a tuning but Wales need more direction from their half-backs.
Wales coaching team
It was always going to be an extremely difficult task to improve performances after inheriting a team who were at such a low ebb, but things really aren’t going well.
Tandy has not been helped by the fact he has not got a specialist defence coach and he will have to wait until the summer to get one.
But Wales have conceded 42 tries so far under Tandy and 302 points in just six matches.
The harsh reality is Wales currently don’t have the same calibre of players that were present in the first Warren Gatland era, while the system underpinning the national side is no longer good enough.
Tandy and his backroom staff are lambs to the slaughter and the fact there are currently so many inexperienced temporary appointments is not helping.