Shane Williams: Wales backs and pack must get it together
How can we play with width and tempo – which is the type of rugby we want to implement – against England and Ireland, and then struggle to do that in the rest of the tournament? I wish I had the answer to that because I genuinely have no idea.
What I do know, though, is that overall it was a disappointing tournament, Wales have to be better than fifth – there’s no getting away from that. But I go back to the same point, the question the coaches, management and players must answer is how the team are consistently so inconsistent.
The thing that stands out for me is that when George North plays well, Wales play well.
Against England and Ireland our back three got the ball in dangerous areas and we scored some good tries. When we played Italy, Scotland and France, it was a different story. George, Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny barely got the ball, especially at Murrayfield and the Stade de France.
Wales dropped off massively in those games and I’m not sure why. Is home advantage a big factor? Maybe. I know that as a player, you really make sure you’re up for running out at Principality Stadium and giving it everything in front of the fans.
But there’s so much experience in this Wales team – they’ve won Grand Slams, Triple Crowns and more – that playing on the road shouldn’t be an excuse. The question many fans are right to ask, is what happens now?
For me, I’m still not sure the coaches know what style of play they want Wales to play. Until we get to the bottom of that, we’re going to struggle to be successful.
When I watch Wales, it looks like things are a bit forced. It’s almost like the forwards and backs are playing separately, not as part of the same team.
That’s not the case with teams like England and New Zealand and I think there is uncertainty among the players at the moment. I’m sure the coaches are passing on clear instructions, but they’re not getting through. How else can you explain the disparity between some of the performances?
As a professional, you should have the awareness to be able to play in open spaces at the touch of a button. Having played with almost all of the backs in this current Wales side, I know from experience they have the talent and ability to do that. The challenge now is to get them to do it.
Against Scotland and France, I thought Wales looked slow and laborious behind the scrum. Some of the passing wasn’t great, and hopefully the players are being challenged to improve. In the future we might see the rewards of that, but Wales need a clearer identity of how they want to play.
The confusion over their style is holding Wales back, but one other thing which isn’t helping them is a lack of confidence. I’m not sure these players are that well-equipped to deal with criticism, which is inevitable when you work in the goldfish bowl that is Welsh rugby.
The constant attention from the media and supporters means that no matter what you do, you’re always going to be under pressure. That was something I had to deal with throughout my career and there’s no doubt it did have an impact on me. Players are only human and criticism hurts.
It’s easier said than done to ignore it, but I remember one day when I was in Wales camp I just decided to completely block out everything that happened externally. That certainly helped me to go up a gear and I was a much better player because of it.
Hopefully, some the current squad can do that when they next play in a Wales shirt because there’s no doubt Wales need to go up several levels to challenge the world’s best.
