S4C’s Jonathan show host and top pundit on the aftermath of Wales’ 54-12 defeat to France
Last week I called for an improvement in the discipline and the set-piece. We got that but Wales’ defence wasn’t good enough and there is a lack of pace in this side.
We were far too narrow defensively at times as we saw with that kick over the top to Theo Attisogbe. It was just too easy for France.
Wales have got to look to vary their defence against Scotland. If they are getting on the outside of you all the time you’ve got to blitz. You’ve got to move up quickly and force them back inside.
You can’t just be passive defensively against these bigger boys because if they are consistently making post-contact metres and you are under pressure straight away.
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The outside centre has got to shoot up and force them back inside or smash them. We were just standing off them and they were doing us for pace on the outside.
The other problem we’ve got is crossing the gain-line. If Eddie James is in the team to carry maybe it is best if he plays at 12 but then who would you play at 13?
I don’t know what the coaches want the inside centre to do. Is he a playmaker with a kicking game which we didn’t see or is it to carry the ball up?
We have to have the confidence to go through the phases and have ball carriers to get over the gainline.
You can say whatever you want but it is all about set-piece and gain-line.
It is all about being physical and carrying the ball to get over the gainline. Unless we do that we aren’t going to create anything.
We are only going one phase, two phases and then having to kick it. A lot of the kicking was also aimless and it needs to be a lot more accurate against Scotland.
France kicked more than us but their kick-chase was far more accurate. I’m not sure what changes could be made to improve the team but I’d consider moving Eddie James to 12 and starting Owen Watkin at 13.
If Matt Sherratt wants us to play like Cardiff it is not going to work because you can’t play on slow ball and you can’t shovel on s**t.
International rugby is not as forgiving as club rugby. Unless you get over the gainline you can forget about being creative with the ball in hand.
But you can’t play nice rugby on the backfoot in international rugby. You have to be patient, you have to kick accurately to compete or kick for position with a good chase.
They’ve got to make sure they get over the gainline before they do any plays because if you don’t do that you are lining the boys up to get smashed and that is what happened on Sunday.
When they were on the front-foot over the gainline they were getting somewhere. Apart from Louis Rees-Zammit there is also a lack of pace in this side.
It looks like the Wales camp is a nice and happy environment but there doesn’t seem to be enough of an edge to it.
When Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards were in charge it was all about having a persona where you have to be aggressive and brutally honest with each other.
In this day and age it is hard to be brutally honest with each other but international rugby is an unforgiving environment.
I think some of the younger players coming through struggle with criticism but you need honest feedback.
It seems like some of the coaches just want to be friends with the players but even in this day and age, tough and honest conversations need to be had.
There’s a lack of edge and aggressiveness in this side. I’m sure a lot of players didn’t look forward to the video review of some matches under Gatland and Edwards.
Under Gatland’s regime the first time around there seemed to be more of a fear factor and players responded well to it. In most successful sides there used to be a fear factor and accountability.
If you make mistakes you have to be answerable to someone. There needs to be some home truths and that has to be led by the coaches.
It is alright putting your arm around a player’s shoulder and being nice but international rugby is all about winning and sometimes you need the coach to give you a reality check.
It is going to be tough again against Scotland this weekend. I thought Scotland took their chances really well against England at Murrayfield.
If you allow Scotland to play on the front foot they are a very dangerous side. They’ve got some outstanding backs and they spread the ball to play in both 15 metre channels.
When you can leave the likes of Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn out it speaks volumes about their depth.
But if you engage in a scrap that’s where they might be vulnerable. Wales may also be able to attack them at the scrum because they had a torrid time against Italy and England also had an edge against them at scrum time.
But if it is going to be an open game there is only going to be one winner so we need to be in their face and make it a dog fight of it.
That’s our only chance of being competitive this weekend. We will start as underdogs again but hopefully an improved performance and you never know.
Jonathan will be broadcast at 9pm on Thursday on S4C and throughout the Six Nations. Join Jiffy, Nigel Owens and Sarra Elgan as they welcome guests to the studio.