00:00Now, Wales' 2025 Six Nations campaign ended in disappointment once again, with the team
00:09picking up another wooden spoon. It's the latest setback for a nation that once dominated
00:14the tournament, raising serious questions about the future. Despite some promising individual
00:20performances, Wales struggled with inconsistency and lacked the cutting edge needed to compete
00:27at the highest level. As they reflect on another underwhelming campaign, the focus
00:31now returns to rebuilding. We discuss the Six Nations in full and look at the steps
00:36Wales must take to rebuild their rugby future.
00:40For Matt Sherrod, managing the losses and just making Wales seem a little bit more respectable
00:46as a side against a team like Ireland, who clearly have the ability, the quality at the
00:52moment, to really tear them apart if they get on it. So, for Wales, they just need
00:56to make it resolute and be dogged about things. So, not an easy day for Matt Sherrod, certainly,
01:01but one where he could come out with a little bit of credit.
01:04Yeah, obviously, pride's up for play massively. That completely diminished by the end of Warren
01:11Gatland's time and you were sort of on the fence, as you say. It was very, very possibly
01:16overdue if you look back in hindsight of Warren Gatland, him stepping down, of course, and
01:21Matt Sherrod coming into the interim. This is very, very unusual for a manager to take
01:27charge halfway through or a few games into a Six Nations campaign, one of the biggest
01:32tournaments in world rugby, really. It was that bad under Gatland. There was talks of
01:38a play-off for Six Nations in the future where European Championship winners would come in
01:43and replace the bottom team in the Six Nations.
01:47I just think they need support. As I said, they're a good group of lads. There's some
01:51really good players in the room as well. They just need to try and reset. As you know, there's
01:58going to be some fresh appointments over the next couple of weeks and I think it's just
02:03about resetting and trying to move forward as quickly as possible. Because today's disappointing.
02:10It's devastating for the players.
02:14Listen, just over the last four weeks, it's important as well. I don't take today and this is my
02:20last in memory. I've really enjoyed the four weeks. They're a good group of lads. There has been
02:25some improvement. It's difficult to say that today after that loss, but I've probably got to
02:30reflect on it and just look at the past four weeks in general. I'm not going to get drawn on the
02:35state of Welsh rugby. We know where we are, I think, and it's about moving forward in the next
02:40couple of weeks.
02:42What can be done and who can come in to not only steady the ship after Matt Sherrod departs, but
02:48also revitalise Wales, make them a great rugby nation once again, because that in itself is quite
02:54the ask, isn't it?
02:56Yeah, it really is. It's important to point out that Wales just six years ago, 2019, were one of
03:02the top, top rugby nations in the world, reached that World Cup semi-final. We're absolutely
03:08fantastic throughout the tournament, building up to that. Now, to go with a record of 14 test
03:13defeats in a row, replacing that and the job of rebuilding Wales is both tough and an attractive
03:22proposition at the same time. You have to see it as that this is a real chance for a coach to come
03:28in and grab it by the scruff of the neck and get Wales back to the very best. As you mentioned,
03:33we've mentioned multiple times, they are a rugby nation, Wales. It's the most important sport in
03:40the country and it's something so many thousands of people care about and it's a massive job.
03:46So, yeah, you're looking at a few names linked with the job. Simon Easterby from Ireland, Glasgow
03:54Warriors boss Franco Smith, Australian Michael Chaker. Now, there's a lot of echoes going on in
04:01the Welsh rugby union in terms of they do have the money to appoint a high-class replacement.
04:08Abbie Tierney, the CEO, has said that they hope that the new head coach will be in by the summer,
04:14by the time they go to Japan. One that stands out for me is Simon Easterby. I think it's not just
04:21his impressive coaching abilities that he's demonstrated, it's sort of his deep-rooted
04:27understanding of Welsh rugby and I think that's the route they need to go down. They need to
04:30make sure they have a coach that come in and understands Wales. A new coach is going to be
04:36announced before the summer tour of Japan and then hopefully they can push on and become that
04:41top Welsh rugby nation once again.
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