The difference is a mere 0.1 of a ranking point. And rankings, in isolation, do not necessarily foretell the future. Even so the news that Wales have slipped to 12th in World Rugby’s official pecking order, one place below Georgia, was a hugely symbolic moment. After 14 Test defeats in succession, another unwanted record, it was a new low in a season increasingly full of them.
Faith seems to be ebbing away, too. “It can’t carry on like this,” their erstwhile fly-half Dan Biggar said on ITV Sport over the weekend. “That looks like a team shot of belief and confidence.” Sam Warburton, who was leading Wales to Six Nations titles and grand slams not so long ago, was similarly downbeat as he sifted through the ashes of the defeat against Italy in Rome on Saturday. Neither were putting the boot in for the sake of it, they were just saying it as it is.
