I am getting a little concerned about the direction, or lack thereof, that the Welsh team are heading in.
They appear to be setting their new course on whatever happened in the last game played.
That is no way to build a side for a World Cup in just 18 months’ time.
I appreciate that Wales faced a difficult start away to Ireland and, after a chastening defeat, any sort of victory against Scotland was needed regardless of how it was achieved.
The win over the Scots was down to the desire and tenacity of the players to will themselves over the line, for which they have received a lot of credit.
And rightly so.
But I am worried that we now think the way we played against Scotland, when Wayne Pivac and his team were desperate for a win, suddenly becomes a template for the way we should play against England too.
Wales reverted to full on ‘Warrenball’ against Scotland. We offered very little in attack.
The game plan was catch and drive lineouts, put the ball in the air and smash it up with the forwards for a couple of phases.
We brought the game down to our level, an arm-wrestle that suited our key players more than Scotland’s and we won.
That approach may work against Scotland at home but it will not work against most decent teams. To beat France, Ireland, England, South Africa or New Zealand, we have to be able to offer more.
The game has moved on and teams must be able to score tries. That is why I was particularly surprised to read reports that Wayne Pivac had decided to drop Louis Rees-Zammit. In a side that has not looked capable of creating a try-scoring opportunity, Wales have dispensed with the only player they have who can score a try from nothing.
He is young and has aspects of his game he needs to improve, his defence and his game involvement to name two, but these are things that will get better the more he is exposed to international rugby.
Rees-Zammit is a prodigious talent. His unrivalled speed makes him the best finisher we have and has the ability to score tries from distance. Wales have managed just two tries in their first two games, an interception and a driving maul.
I find it hard to understand that they would choose to discard their most potent attacking weapon voluntarily.
It is a defensive decision that belies a cautious, low risk mentality. His replacement, Alex Cuthbert, did quite well against Scotland. He exceeded my expectations - which were not particularly high.
But we know Cuthbert well. He has his own flaws, plenty of them. He is what he is; a big powerful runner with limited skills and prone to errors.
I think it is such a retrograde step to drop Rees-Zammit for Cuthbert. The younger man is the future, he must be developed and nurtured, he has the potential to be a genuine great.
It seems unlikely Cuthbert will reach those heights again.
When Pivac was appointed coach, I was hoping Wales would become a more attack-minded side. He said as much himself.
The reality of international rugby meant that he had to curb those ideals, but there were still signs he wanted a team that could threaten and create when he picked Josh Adams in midfield against Ireland.
That was a positive decision, a show of intent. Adams may have struggled defensively against a rampant Ireland but it showed that Wales wanted to attempt to score tries.
That idea appears to have been abandoned with Wales stuck on a centre pairing that looked defensively sound against Scotland. Yet despite plenty of possession, Wales mustered a solitary line break.
It seems that Pivac has retreated from his ambition to score tries and play with pace, to a damage limitation mentality.
But if you want to win at Twickenham, you have to be prepared to throw a few shots. Wales have to score tries to give themselves a chance and you can only do that if you have individuals capable of something special like Rees-Zammit, or a style of play that can create chances.
Each of those have been sidelined in favour of defensive attributes.
It may be the pragmatic approach but it is certainly a short-term approach. It may make the scoreline closer, but I think it makes the odds of actually winning much greater indeed.
In his third Six Nations, Pivac has yet to nail down a style of play that is consistent. His overarching philosophy of being a ‘try-scoring’ side is rapidly disappearing.
England at Twickenham is a daunting prospect. Most teams lose there. Only ones with something special walk away with a memorable victory.
I am struggling to see where that will come from this weekend.
Gwyn Jones is a part of S4C’s Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol team. S4C’s coverage of England v Wales gets underway at 4.15pm on Saturday. Also, watch coverage of England Under 20s v Wales Under 20s from 6.45pm on Friday night, English commentary available.
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