Wales enter the Six Nations with a mix of optimism and uncertainty as they look to rebuild under Warren Gatland. With a blend of experienced leaders and emerging talent, they aim to compete despite injuries and squad changes.
Their tough opening fixture against France will set the tone, but Wales will need consistency and resilience to challenge the tournament’s top sides.
Their tough opening fixture against France will set the tone, but Wales will need consistency and resilience to challenge the tournament’s top sides.
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00:00James, obviously we're on the brink of the Six Nations. We've mentioned before the sort
00:11of hopes of just purely trying to avoid the wooden spoon again. But, you know, as you
00:17go into it and the squad's been announced now, Warren Gatland's side are really looking
00:21to put behind them the dreadful year of 2024. What are your sort of hopes? And does the
00:28sort of squad raise any confidence inside Welsh camp? What are the fans thinking about
00:34this tournament and how they can go about it? Obviously, you know, drawn against the
00:38tournament favourites, France, in the very first game, that's going to be an incredibly
00:42tough start for them.
00:43Like I said, the squad looks decent. You know, we know the state of Welsh rugby. No-one's
00:50thinking that we're going to be going into this setting the world on fire. But, you know,
00:54like Gatland's already said, like, watch this space. Like, this squad can do things.
01:00There's a few players left out, which tells you the level of the squad there is. Some
01:04really decent players left out, like Rio Dyer. Like, for him to not make the squad, clearly
01:10there are players coming through that have earned those places. So I think it's going
01:13to be an interesting tournament. And I think that without the pressure, you know, we have
01:16to sit the most, the worst year in Welsh rugby possibly ever. You know, 2024 was an absolute
01:22write-off, not a single win. So there's no pressure at all going into this tournament.
01:28Except maybe to not lose every game is the only pressure. So I think the players can
01:32go out there, have a bit of fun with it if they want to. You've got to hope that something
01:37comes through this. You've got to hope that there's just signs of life at the end of this
01:43tournament.
01:44And obviously, Warren Gatland, it's his 13th Six Nations as a coach. I mean, that's quite
01:50incredible going into this. Do you feel like he is the man to turn things around? Because
01:56there was obviously multiple times throughout the last 12 months where his job was looking
02:01a certain down. Do you feel if it is to be a poor Six Nations that his job could possibly
02:06be over as Welsh coach?
02:10I personally think it has to be. He came in to turn it around and he hasn't. It's arguably
02:16got worse. I don't think he's made this worse. I don't think that it's Warren Gatland's fault
02:22that we're in a worse position, but we are in a worse position now than we were like
02:26a year or two ago. And we thought it was bad then. So if this isn't a good tournament,
02:31if we lose every game and then beat Italy, I think that counts as a bad tournament. It
02:39should be curtains for him. I think that he's been there so long and he does such a great
02:43job in the first place. He's got a gate named after him by the stadium. He's an honorary
02:49Welshman in this way. And I think that if this doesn't go well, wash your hands with
02:53it and keep the legacy as best you can for Warren Gatland.