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Ben James

Wales attack coach explains what they're actually trying to do

There are perhaps few things as contentious as the Wales attack.

Like the 10 jersey that spearheads it, it's a topic that tends to elicit extremely strong feelings from the Welsh public. Just ask Rob Howley or Stephen Jones.

Often, unless those 15 in red jerseys are flinging it around like the Harlem Globetrotters, it simply won't be enough.

But, in fairness, at a time when Ireland and France seem capable of overwhelming teams in phase play regardless of the situation, and Scotland and Italy remain dangerous with ball in hand, Wales are caught behind the eight ball with their movements and creativity.

The man tasked with changing that is Alex King, who has followed Howley and Jones as the coach responsible. The former Wasps fly-half has been a part of Wales' coaching ticket before, filling in six years ago while Warren Gatland was on Lions duty.

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Now though, he's here on a full-time basis and intent on making Wales more of a threat. After three matches where just three tries were scored, a bonus point victory in Rome was a step in the right direction. Things are undeniably a work in progress, though.

"I think that the team is growing over the course of the tournament," he said. "We want to be at the end of the journey a little bit sooner, but it's going to take time.

"Combinations take time. They're still learning about me as a coach, I'm still learning about them as players.

"We're still learning about combinations and what fits a game model with the players we've got in the squad. Every game we're learning huge amounts about individuals, systems, players' strengths and what they can bring to the team."

King is confident Wales can be firing in attack come the World Cup in France later this year. He looks to the all-court games of Ireland and France as the benchmark.

"They haven't got any weaknesses," he added. "Their set-piece is good, their defence is good, their kicking game is good, their transition from defence to attack is good.

"These teams are maybe a little more mature than where we are. But that's no excuse, we'll get there in our own time."

What Ireland and France have built has taken an entire World Cup cycle, even longer in all honesty. The last time Gatland faced France in 2019, they were already on the journey to improvement.

With Ireland, Andy Farrell took the sturdy foundations of Joe Schmidt - who elevated them to new heights, but was ultimately worked out when it mattered - and made them bullet-proof. They've gone from being a side built on tricky starter moves and conservative play to a multi-threat outfit.

To do that takes time. Even Italy, albeit in a losing cause, tore Wales' defence to shreds at times on Saturday.

For the Azzurri, that came from a total buy-in on how they will play the game. Pull-back passes worked in fixing Welsh defenders because of how square Italian carriers stayed. Bodies didn't turn to make the pass on the gain-line, just a flick of a wrist.

Can Wales get something like that in place before the World Cup, having not really got anywhere down that particular path under Wayne Pivac for three years? That's the all-important question - just how much can King really implement in the six months or so?

Those answers will come later. What we know is that Wales will build their attack around what we saw in Rome. Kick smart, play when it's on in the right areas and try develop some little nuances to cause problems and create speed of ball.

Forging a mindset and being bold

For King, it's about what the players believe they can do and how he expands that.

"I think it's sometimes more of a mindset," King explains. "Italy have bit of a mindset that they play from everywhere.

"When it comes off, it looks great. When it doesn't, they put themselves under undue pressure. I spoke to a couple of their players after the game and they've really bought into the philosophy. When it goes well, it looks really good.

"It's a question of matching it with game management as you can't play like that for 80 minutes. Occasionally it will do and it'll look spectacular.

"We're working on our own strengths and combinations and how we want to stress defences. That's looking for best space, whether that's ball in hand or a kicking game.

"We're developing guys' skillsets, combinations and we're developing a system that will work for our players. That's what we're doing in every training session."

Certainly, that area of the game - how Wales hold defences with options out the back - continues to be one of the biggest work-ons. Wales just haven't seemed to master it, meaning sides only have to worry about dealing with the front line.

Even though Rhys Webb salvaged this situation with a smart kick that led to Rio Dyer's try, Wales are fairly easy to read with the ball out the back option to Mason Grady here.

What King will be pleased with is how Wales were, by and large, brave with ball in hand on Saturday. Gatland had called for them to be braver, particularly on transition.

Liam Williams' opening score came from Taulupe Faletau recognising the opportunity from turnover ball - with three backs outside him. Pierre Bruno bites on Josh Adams and Faletau's pass bounces out to Williams, who then finishes well.

From a kick return, Wales showed some willingness to spread the ball - another point Gatland had made after the England game.

In particular, Williams follows his pass to Hawkins, who then holds his own pass until Italy's widest defender Ignacio Brex jams in on the full-back, before firing it out to Adams is what gets Wales in behind.

Again, it's all about mindset.

"I suppose we just want to open the guys' eyes up to those opportunities, especially in those transition moments," said King. "There's probably a five-second window where the defence is trying to get reorganised.

"You've got the ball. Are you all ready to flick the switch to turn it into attack? That's what we're trying to replicate in training. But it does take a little bit of time to change mindsets about what is possible. So every day we're driving that as a coaching group to accelerate that learning."

Speed over shape and shades of 2019

Ruck speed has become one of the most important - if a little skewed - statistics in rugby in recent years. Taking six seconds to set up a caterpillar ruck and box-kick distorts the numbers a little, but over the last few years it has been generally accepted that Wales have struggled to get the ball away from the ruck quickly.

However, ruck speed hasn't been atrocious in this tournament for Wales. Against Ireland and Scotland, they were, at times, able to create quick ball. Of course, it's about what you do with it.

Former England scrum-half Danny Care, speaking after England's win over Wales, talked about how he wants Steve Borthwick's side to put the emphasis on 'speed over shape'. Generate quick ball and strike while the defence isn't set.

King can see the benefits of that, for sure. But he's also aware that being fast for the sake of being fast without being set can lead to things going awry.

Against Ireland, Wales did their best to push passes to stress Ireland, but it got to the point of overplaying at times - leaving Wales shapeless and Ireland in control defensively. In this example, Wales have stressed the Irish defence with a series of quick phases, but working it back, Alun Wyn Jones decides to force an offload while he's resetting for the next phase.

The issue is there's nothing really on for Biggar, so he just has to ship it on to Dyer. The winger does well to beat his man, but when he's brought down, Wales are no further forward and now their shape is probably more stressed than the Irish defence. They continue to force things working across and that leads to James Lowe's intercept try.

Getting that balance of shape and speed is key for King, but being clinical is the bigger issue. Wales haven't exactly struggled to create 22 entries, but, other than Rome, they've been fairly wasteful.

"I thought against Ireland we moved the ball pretty well. It's probably being really, really ruthless when we get opportunities," said King. "That's probably the thing that has let us down. It's about getting that ruthless edge to validate the work we do up to that point.

"That's the challenge. It's about stressing defences, getting opportunities, speed of ball and when you get the moment, you've got to take it. We can be better at that. Against France, we have to go up a level."

Many, myself included, expected Gatland to look to what worked four years ago when Wales were one of the best sides in the world in order to negate some of the issues that have plagued them.

If you can't consistently win collisions, then undermine the defences' line speed in other ways. In 2019, that was through the pick-and-go and bringing the back-three - Wales' best strike-runners - into play around the fringes.

So the patterns that Wales ran early on in Rome seemed awfully familiar.

From a lineout, Jac Morgan peels off and carries hard at the fringes, with Joe Hawkins on his shoulder. The blindside flanker gives the pass off and Hawkins runs hard into contact.

As Wales recycle, Josh Adams picks the ball up from the base and carries, using his footwork to beat a flat-footed forward. Another pick-and-go and Italy are scrambling to reset, jumping offside when Wales do eventually move it a pass out from the ruck.

Minutes later, they run the same sort of pattern, with Jac Morgan peeling and then Dyer picking and going from the ruck.

"I don't think you want to base your attack on one or two individuals," said King of his attack. "I think then you start relying on them and if they're not there, what do you do?

"So you need a system that compliments all the players and people can fit in seamlessly. Obviously then, you need your X-factor players. Every team needs them, let's be honest.

"You want them on the field because when you get opportunities, you want your best players on the ball. We've got a system in place. We want speed in our game and we've got an ambition to drive this team forward but unfortunately it takes time in getting that cohesive clarity in scenarios when they arrive."

It's a simple notion, getting your best players on the ball in the best positions. But it's always harder in execution than in theory.

As well as the pick-and-goes in the tight, Wales are using centre Hawkins as a solid means of getting their dangerous strike-runners onto the ball.

Against Ireland, Hawkins sits deep to take the pass from Biggar, before timing his pass to Dyer on his shoulder to allow the wing to run at a passive defence.

Then, in the second-half in Rome, Hawkins takes a lineout directly in midfield, before feeding Webb who gives it on to Owen Williams. The fly-half carries hard to the line, sitting down a defender before putting Louis Rees-Zammit through a gap.

Grady runs a hard line here off Webb to fix defenders, while Wales did a nice job of getting him over the gainline in the build-up to Faletau's try. Running the peel by Morgan again, they put it through the hands of Webb and Hawkins to delay Grady as a target for the defence. The young Cardiff centre also shows some nice footwork to evade the first tackle.

A couple of phases later, Wales have another promising shape all set up, with Italy losing concentration around the fringes and overfolding as a result - allowing Webb to snipe and set up his No. 8

Wales have a decent shape as they reload, with Italy overfolding - allowing Webb the space to snipe (Six Nations Rugby)

A ball-playing 12 and combining the moving parts

We've seen the benefit of Hawkins as a ball-playing 12, but a piece of analysis posted on Twitter by former England fly-half Danny Cipriani shows just how much can be achieved by an inside centre capable of stepping in at first-receiver.

The former Wasps playmaker, who played alongside and under King, spoke about how a starter play where the 12 takes the ball at first-receiver with options out the back can be almost unplayable at times. As he says, if all goes right, "the defenders are just pawns in the game".

Wales are trying to bring those same starter plays, with Dan Biggar speaking earlier in the tournament of how having Hawkins as another first-receiver takes the pressure off him.

In Italy, it didn't quite click, but the decision to push the pass further beyond Grady and Williams to Dyer nearly helped find the edge. There's promise in there, even if some of the details aren't quite there yet.

Of course, it's not an easy thing to pull off, as King is all too aware.

"I worked with Danny," he said. "He's one of the best passers of the ball I've seen. I played with him, coached him and he's saying it's the decision on the 10. Fair play to Danny, he made the right call 99 times out of 100.

"He had a special skill and the way he breaks it down, it's like anyone can do it. He's got some good ideas.

"Joe certainly gives us that go-forward that Danny speaks about and Mason carries hard outside him. It's about getting that combination with the 10 and the winger out the back and then the full-back linking up on the outside.

"There's a lot of moving parts and the more those guys play together, the more those moving parts work well together."

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