Wales quite easily odds on favourites for the wooden spoon and rightly so. A torrid autumn campaign including the 73-0 drubbing by South Africa admittedly with Wales missing all their England and France based players.
Wales have just two wins since the last World Cup both against Japan including the one point win in Cardiff over the autumn. Wales are getting better, players like Blair Murray, Dan Edwards, Alex Mann and Dafydd Jenkins are developing into international, test match animals, not quite yet the big names that South Africa have at their disposal.
Wales Fixtures
England (A), 7th February
France (H), 15th February
Scotland (H), 21st February
Ireland (A). 6th March
Italy (H), 14th March
Wales’ fixtures have fallen fairly kindly for Wales, whilst they have trips to Dublin and Twickenham that should be routine wins for the men in green and England’s in-form side, they have the two more winnable ties against Italy and Scotland at the Principality Stadium. Italy are still prone to having an off day especially away from home, and as for Scotland they have a very bad habit of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory (New Zealand and Argentina prime examples).
Wales are missing Jac Moran about the only player Wales can claim has been anywhere near high performing if not world class, one of only two Welsh players to make the original Lions touring party to Australia. Taulupe Faletau also a miss, not quite the player he was a few years ago but he’s a good, experienced head for a squad full of youth and also for a back row with no Morgan, Tommy Reffel or Ross Moriarty.
Sam Costelow does return though having come back from injury in January which will be a big boost, the Scarlets fly-half comes in and should start ahead of Ospreys Dan Edwards who had possession of the famous red ten jersey in November.
Wales’ off-field issues have hurt the team badly and the issues grow bigger, the outside voices get louder, the terrible form pales in significance to the crisis currently continuing to distract at the WRU, the future employment of players, coaches, real people with real families repeatedly effected by the incompetence and uncertainty over the future of Welsh rugby.
The visit of Italy easily represents the best chance of Wales avoiding a third successive wooden spoon but it won’t be easy, Italy beat Australia and the autumn and kept up with the Springboks for a large part of the game. For me Wales are in for yet another campaign of character building and lesson learning.
Our Wales 23 to face England
1 Nicky Smith (Leicester) 2 Dewi Lake (Captain, Ospreys) 3 Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff) 4 Adam Beard (Montpelier) 5 Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter) 6 Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) 7 Josh Macleod (Scarlets) 8 Olly Cracknell (Leicester)
9 Tomos Williams (Gloucester) 10 Sam Costelow 11 Tom Rogers (both Scarlets) 12 Ben Thomas (Cardiff) 13 Owen Watkin (Ospreys) 14 Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol) 15 Blair Murray (Scarlets)
16 Ryan Elias (Scarlets) 17 Gareth Thomas (Ospreys) 18 Archie Griffin (Bath) 19 Freddie Thomas (Gloucester) 20 Alex Mann (Cardiff) 21 Taine Plumtree (Scarlets) 22 Kieran Hardy (Ospreys) 23 Joe Hawkins (Scarlets)
Last Season: 6th
Prediction: 6th
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