-Credit:Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd
Back in last year’s Six Nations, before the Wooden Spoon and a winless 2024 was on the agenda, Wales had a press conference in the Principality Stadium prior to their trip to Dublin.
The reason it sticks out in the mind is that the Ray Gravell suite isn’t the usual location for Wales’ mid-week press conferences. But a flooded pitch at their Vale HQ necessitated the move into Cardiff.
Two games in to the Six Nations, there was an acceptance that Wales were having to essentially start afresh. A World Cup quarter-final in France the previous year, after a wretched 12 months, had restored some pride in the Welsh jersey.
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Now, as Warren Gatland sat in the room where he would often hold court, the Wales coach was adamant he would stick with youth moving forward – balking at one question about ditching the notion once the Six Nations was done.
“You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t,” said Gatland at the time. “You’re questioning the decision but if we’d gone the other way and got experience in then you’d say ‘Why aren’t we going with youth?’
“We’ve made that step at the moment. We feel we’re building for the future and we’ve got some really talented young players at the moment who need time.
“We’ve kept some experience in the squad with players like Gareth Davies and George North. We don’t know if they’re going to make the next World Cup given the amount of rugby they’ve played over the years. (Neither will, with both retiring from Test rugby before the end of 2024).
“We’ve got some players to come back in who are injured – Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and maybe Taulupe Faletau as well. We’ve made that decision because we feel like there’s an opportunity to develop this team over the next couple of years.
“Having a chat with Steve Borthwick, they (England) are kind of in the same position. When does he transition his players out who won’t be there for the next World Cup?
“We’ve made that decision already. Hopefully people can see what we’re trying to do. I’m really excited about this group of players and there’s a chance to really grow them for the long-term growth of international rugby in Wales.”
Of course, less than a month later, Gatland had apparently offered his resignation after the defeat to Italy, completing a winless Six Nations. With that, the bubble around the long-term growth of this squad burst a little..
If the head coach was willing to walk away at the first bump in the road, maybe the promise of short-term pain for long-term gain is a little empty….
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