Pointless Wales reach another unwanted landmark as pressure mounts on Gatland

Simon Thomas

Going into this Six Nations, the big question was where was the win going to come from for Wales.

Now the question is even more concerning – where are the points going to come from?

Just when you think every negative landmark has reared its ugly head on this losing run, so another pops up.

Last night’s 43-0 defeat to France in Paris was the first time Wales had failed to score a point in a Championship match since they were beaten 51-0 by the same opposition at Wembley in April 1998.

That was the grimmest of days in the shadow of the Twin Towers, one that established a new record for the biggest ever losing margin in any match in the history of the Five Nations.

That unwanted statistic spelt the end of the road for coach Kevin Bowring after some two years at the helm.

After securing victories against Scotland and Ireland in the previous two Championship matches, it had appeared his job was safe.

But the scale of the seven-try defeat to the French made his position untenable and he departed to ultimately be replaced by Graham Henry.

Job security

Henry’s countryman Warren Gatland won’t be similarly sacked after this new nilling, as he is in place for the duration of the Six Nations, unless he steps down mid-tournament, of course.

But it’s done nothing to improve his job security. Instead, it will pile on even more pressure ahead of next Saturday’s showdown with Italy in Rome, which is increasingly looking like a must-win game if he is to retain his post beyond this Championship, considering the matches to follow.

But to win games, you have to score points and Wales just never looked like doing that at the Stade de France.

Not for the first time during Gatland’s second tenure, they lacked any kind of penetration in attack.

At the moment, they have neither the physicality nor the creativity to break down defences, especially one under the tutelage of a certain Shaun Edwards.

Former England prop David Flatman summed it up best while commentating on the match for ITV.

He said: “Wales just don’t have the big monsters to smash their way over the gain line like France do, so there has to be more deception and invention.”

Of course, he’s spot on, but the latter two qualities are currently just as absent as the brute force.

Toothless

It all leaves Wales decidedly toothless.

There were a couple of passages of play that best illustrated this for me.

Early in the second half, they spent some two minutes attacking in the opposition 22, going through 14 phases off a close range lineout.

Backs and forwards took it in turns to try and find a way through the blue wall, but all to no avail, as they were repelled, rebuffed and knocked back every time until the almost inevitable happened when the ball was spilled in contact. Loads of huff, loads of puff, but no house blown down.

The French reaction at the end of the sequence was telling as they celebrated, but almost in a slightly workmanlike fashion, as if they had just completed a good defensive set in training.

There was another notable passage around the hour mark, this time further out, but with a similarly unproductive end result.

Once again, Wales tried their hardest to break through, with plenty of endeavour in their carries, but they just couldn’t make any significant headway, while they didn’t have any imaginative alternative in their locker to get some joy via guile rather than grunt.

In the end, they just ran out of ideas and the attack petered out through a somewhat aimless kick downfield.

The contrast with what the French did when they were in possession was so stark it was almost like two teams playing two different sports.

When the hosts had the ball, the behemoths in their pack would do the softening up, making ground with almost every carry.

Rugby, more than ever these days, is all about the gain-line and France had it, while Wales didn’t.

Or as Dan Biggar put it on ITV: “One team won the collisions and one team didn’t win the collisions.”

Physical dominance

That physical dominance up front provided the perfect platform for the glitterati behind to weave their magic.

The hosts were just so powerful and so clinical. In truth, they were operating on a totally different level, with one of their number simply on a different planet.

Back in 1998, I wrote the following words in my match report on the 51-0 rout inflicted by France.

“You would need to go a long way and watch a great many matches to see a better performance on a rugby field. His vision, awareness and skill made this a display to savour.”

I was talking about Thomas Castaignede, the bottle blond bombshell who ripped Wales apart from outside-half that day at Wembley.

Yet they could just as easily have applied to last night’s masterclass from another Gallic genius at half-back, Antoine Dupont.

The debate over whether Dupont is the GOAT (Greatest of all time – for those of my generation) will go on and ultimately it’s all about individual opinion.

But I just feel he is fantastic for the sport and we are so fortunate to be around to see him perform like he did in this Six Nations starter.

As if he wasn’t good enough already, he now has added protection at ruck and maul under the new laws governing scrum-halves, which gives him the time and space to wreak even more havoc.

His play in the first half was just absolutely sublime, as he took a key hand – or boot – in all four of France’s tries as they wrapped up the bonus point before the break.

There was a pinpoint cross-kick on the run to set up the opener for Theo Attissogbe when there just didn’t seem a way to thread the ball through a forest of bodies. It was the perfect combination of vision and footballing skill, in terms of the trajectory of the kick and its precise execution.

Reacting on commentary, Shane Williams declared: “That should be made illegal. He is just unbelievable.”

In the build-up to France’s second, finished off by their other wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Dupont again showed his rugby intelligence as he looped around Thomas Ramos to set up the key initial line-break.

For the third, it was all about his awareness, strength and running threat as he spotted a dog leg in the Welsh defence, broke the tackle of Dafydd Jenkins and then stepped around Liam Williams with outrageous ease before sending Attissogbe over.

Then, for the fourth, he again showed the ability to make the right decision at the right time as he unfurled a long floated pass to hand Bielle-Barrey his brace.

It was a supreme showing, just ‘magnifique’, and it had Shane Williams, another of the game’s great entertainers, purring with praise.

“To me, he just looks like he is down the park playing with his mates. Everything he is doing is just turning to gold,” said the former wing wizard.

Thankfully, from a Welsh perspective, France coach Fabien Galthie opted to withdraw Dupont on 49 minutes to keep him fresh for next weekend’s meeting with England at Twickenham.

It was a case or merci for the mercy.

Indictment 

Yet, it was also a reflection of the game being already over as a contest and something of an indictment of just where Wales stand as opponents. Five fellow front-liners were taken off at the same time, rested for stiffer challenges to come.

Despite the mass changes, the gulf between the sides was still apparent and there were three more tries to follow, making it seven in total, just as in 1998.

Wales had one final chance to break their duck in the last play when flanker Jac Morgan evaded the clutches of Émilien Gailleton and burst down the touchline, but his inside pass aimed for Elliot Dee was blocked by a French hand and that was that.

It needs recording that skipper Morgan couldn’t have given any more or tried any harder as he led by example, making 15 carries and putting in 21 tackles.

He can hold his head up high and remains the Welsh player most likely to go on this summer’s Lions tour of Australia. But one man can only do so much.

Overall, Wales were comprehensively outplayed.

There was one positive in terms of the scrum, which was pretty solid, suggesting Adam Jones has made an immediate impact.

But, apart from that, Wales came second best in every department.

Tactics

Their tactics were also confusing. In the early exchanges, they got some joy out of going to the air via a kick-to-compete strategy, regaining possession and gaining ground.

But they then abandoned that approach, opting instead to repeatedly carry up despite being so underpowered, while they lacked accuracy or any kind of invention on the occasions when they put the ball through the hands. As for the kicking, rather than contestable bombs, it tended to be dinks down the middle which simply handed possession over to one of the most dangerous teams in the world.

On top of their ineffectiveness in attack, Wales were also found wanting in defence. Yes, there was bravery and heart in the rearguard effort, but they missed 26 tackles, while they were unable to halt the French lineout drive.

Then there was their indiscipline. The penalty count was 12-3 against them and they had two players sin-binned. Life is hard enough in Paris without making it even harder with repeat indiscretions, leaving you on the back foot facing a blue juggernaut with petit General Dupont at the wheel.

So where now for Wales in the short, medium and longer term after a record-stretching 13th straight Test defeat?

Well, we can again consider the “nil point” Euro contest from 27 years ago for some context.

If you look at the Wales team that day and during the 1998 Championship, it included the likes of Rob Howley, Neil Jenkins, Scott Gibbs, Gareth Thomas, Scott Quinnell, Garin Jenkins, Colin Charvis, Alan Bateman, Dafydd James and David Young – men who were to figure prominently in famous victories over England, South Africa and France just a year later.

But does this current squad feature players of that quality who could turn things around in similar fashion?

Or are there people outside of the group who could come in and make the impact the likes of Shane Howarth, Peter Rogers, Brett Sinkinson and Chris Wyatt did in 1999?

It’s hard to see it happening, if truth be told.

Perhaps the bigger question is whether we have the right coaches in place to bring the best out of the players we do have at our disposal, both in terms of selection and style of play.

Or will there need to be change at the helm just as there was in 1998 with the arrival of the Great Redeemer?

For now, all roads lead to Rome and next Saturday’s critical encounter with Italy.

Changes

There are set to be a couple of definite changes, with Owen Watkin having suffered a serious looking knee injury and Aaron Wainwright picking up a nasty facial wound, while there is also a doubt over Liam Williams.

With Watkin out, Wales could look to start how they ended up in Paris, with Ben Thomas moving to inside centre and Dan Edwards lining up at fly-half. Alternatively, there’s the option of going for more physicality and incision in midfield with Scarlets duo Eddie James and Joe Roberts chomping at the bit.

As for Wainwright’s berth at No 8, you would expect Taulupe Faletau to come in if passed fit, while Tom Rogers, Blair Murray and Ellis Mee can all play at full-back if Liam Williams is ruled out.

In terms of any further changes, we will have to wait and see.

What we already know is the magnitude of the fixture, something hammered home by former skipper Biggar.

“It’s the biggest game in Welsh rugby for 15-20 years. It’s a huge, huge match,” said the fly-half.

So, it’s make or break time and certainly not a moment to draw another blank.

As Brucie once put it. “What do points make?”

All together now: “Prizes!”