LONG READ The technical tweaks that could send Wales back to rugby's top table

Nobody could claim this was a successful Six Nations for Wales. Far from it. It started poorly and amid a wave of growing negativity and led to the departure of long-time coach Warren Gatland. That negativity was punctured when Matt Sherratt took the reins and led Wales to an unexpectedly narrow loss to Ireland followed by a stirring second-half comeback which just fell short against Scotland. There was genuine optimism on this writer’s behalf for the final game against England in Cardiff. But then there was a slow realisation that the game was drifting away from Wales before a reckoning that this was to become the worst defeat in Cardiff and their worst ever Six Nations defeat. But, amidst that car crash of a result, what elements of their attacking shape are worth salvaging going forward?

Watch the last days of Gatland’s empire and you’ll see a team playing competently behind the gain line but without many attacking options. Notice in the below image how Ben Thomas is almost 10m back from the ruck with outside carrying options a further 5m back.

With no depth outside those immediate carrying options France can more or less ignore the far side of the pitch and you can actually spot this by the fact the widest player in the defensive line is not very wide and is still coming in on an angle. Wales can’t access that wide space and because they can’t threaten it France don’t need to defend it. In fact, they can more or less double up on every carrier. Wales actually have some slick interplay between the forwards and make a dominant hit but that means they’re only just over the halfway line and have lost the best part of 10m.

Take this example and we’ll see that things have changed. Gareth Anscombe is closer to the defensive line and there are a pod of forwards with Ellis Mee out the back who can hit a second pod of forwards or the wider backs. You can see that this is more challenging for England to defend by the fact they have to maintain width and respect the fact that Wales can access that space.

That isn’t to say that this is a groundbreaking fix, however. The problem Wales have at the moment is that there’s a distinct lack of power in the forwards and in the backs. Ireland, at their best, would use intricate passing and deft footwork to overpower their opponents. Simply put, rather than run straight into the arms, or shoulders, of a big tackling opposition they would try and run at the spaces. That’s easier said than done and requires front foot and quick ball to take advantage of defenders who are unsure of their assignments. Added to that, Ireland had more powerful carriers who could get them onto the front foot when the situation called for it. Wales probably didn’t have in the Six Nations and with a small player base, not renowned for producing hulking-like Pacific Island piano shifters, isn’t going to change any time soon.

What that leads to is this situation. Wales haven’t punched holes on either of their next two carries and so England have simply slid across the pitch and there’s no space to attack. Anscombe ends up going himself but gets held up and Wales are turned over.

That might sound underwhelming but it’s a much better attacking shape than they had at the start of the tournament. Creating options helps make the team carry more powerfully by putting the defenders on the back foot. Look at the below and you can see how Elliot Dee holds his feet, draws the defenders to him, then puts WillGriff John through on a slanting run. It’s not a line break but it’s a powerful carry and quick ball. That brings Anscombe forwards and the next phase Blair Murray runs around the Irish defence and Tom Rogers scores in the corner.

In the Autumn Nations, the only source of Welsh success came through their kicking game. That fell flat against Scotland where Blair Kinghorn totally dominated the aerial battle but it’s still an option they need to exploit. The reason for this is that you need to find a way to create broken field for players like Murray who is one of few players to come out of the Six Nations in credit. Those competitions in the air create chaos and when you’re the weaker side you need chaos. The brief period they had a foothold against England coincided with the game descending into chaos with loose kicking and mistakes.

You can’t really force chaos but the kicking game is a leveller. Back in 2023 England were clearly not as good as South Africa but inclement Parisian weather and winning the kicking game gave them a shot at the World Cup final. That game became chaotic and it levelled things off. Now, the problem here is that Wales aren’t necessarily blessed in this area. In Murray, Liam Williams, Rogers and Josh Adams, they have players who can compete in the air and Tomos Williams is a solid box kicker. However, Jarrod Evans is probably the best fly-half option Wales have and his game isn’t to stand back and pin the corners.

This is ultimately the conclusion for Wales, sadly. When Gatland selected his squad and didn’t include Max Llewelyn, Anscombe, Jarrod Evans, and Cameron Winnett it was felt that these four could turn Wales’ fortunes. All, bar Winnett, were then called up and though things changed it’s clear that there’s not an ocean of untapped talent available, but ignored, to Wales. Instead, whomever the new Welsh coach is, has to maximise what is available. That probably means shelving the power game and looking towards intricate handling as highlighted above. It also means creating chaos through the kicking game. It’s crucial to keep things moving forwards and establishing a structure for playing which ensures Wales can be competitive until the wider ecosystem improves. It might seem unlikely, but there has been enough in their final three Six Nations’ matches to suggest that Wales should continue in the attacking shape Sherratt had outlined for them.