Nigel Owens: It's been a year to forget and we must be much better at one thing
As we near the end of 2024, I think it’s safe to say that it will be a year Welsh rugby fans will want to forget.
A winless year at Test level for Wales with an unwanted record of 12 successive defeats, a Six Nations wooden spoon and a disappointing autumn campaign, coupled with the regions underperforming in the URC, means it’s hard to imagine things getting much worse than they have been this year.
That’s not to say there haven’t been some promising signs. While the autumn was obviously really disappointing, we saw that we do have some quality players in this side that we can build around. Dewi Lake was fantastic as captain and Jac Morgan showed his class too - if the Lions squad was being picked tomorrow, those would be the first two names on the teamsheet as far as I’m concerned. James Botham was also immense against South Africa, so we certainly have quality there.
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It’s our strength in depth that is the problem, it’s just not the same as it was a few seasons ago and so, while it has been said a lot, it is true that this is a rebuilding process. Obviously people weren’t expecting that to mean going so long without winning a game, but I am hopeful that we can break that run at the Six Nations and kick on from there.
We were unlucky to go winless at the last Six Nations, there were a couple of decisions that went against us at certain points and, as we all know, that can mean the difference between winning and losing sometimes.
We will go into the Six Nations as underdogs, but I’m hopeful that we can get a few good results, particularly with some of the experience that’s now back available to Warren Gatland, such as the likes of Josh Adams and Taulupe Faletau. That will help restore some confidence.
Of course, it is still going to be a tough one with England and Ireland coming to Cardiff and with visits to France, Italy and Scotland. But sometimes all it takes is the bounce of a ball or a decision going a certain way and all of a sudden, you’re winning a game or two and things are looking different.
If we perform how we did in the South Africa game in the autumn, then that should stand us in good stead. Yes, it was another loss but I thought we performed well against a side that were just superior in quality and would have likely beaten any team in the world.
What’s certain is it’s going to be a big Six Nations campaign for everyone involved, particularly in light of the last week with the decision around Warren Gatland’s future. The WRU have stood by him but also made it clear that they expect results to change in the new year, so I hope everyone can get behind the team and we start to see that happen.
I’m hoping that we’ll see a bit of a uplift not just in the international game but with the regions too. Cardiff and the Scarlets have done well so far this season, the Ospreys have been a bit hot and cold, but the Dragons have been a bit disappointing - I was hoping they would kick on a bit this year.
The recent Scarlets-Ospreys derby was a good game of rugby and well refereed by Craig Evans, but the atmosphere in the stadium was disappointing. I refereed that fixture every year for the best part of 15 years and the stadiums were always packed to the rafters, a good 20,000 plus at the Liberty and over 15,000 at Parc y Scarlets. It’s a real shame that more people weren’t there to watch it this year, maybe it would have been different if it had been a Boxing Day fixture.
I hope the regions can start to kick on in the URC, even though it will be tough, as we could really do with Welsh rugby having a spring in its step.
Change won’t come overnight, we still need some players to come through. Wales U20s have always been strong and competing at the very top, but times have changed and it seems to be a bit quiet across all the age groups at the moment, so it will take a bit of time, I think. There used to be quality players churned out year after year, the likes of Sam Warburton, Rhys Webb, Dan Lydiate, Dan Biggar, but now it’s just one or two coming through every year, which is affecting things at international level.
We need to get things right from the very bottom of the game, particularly with the academy structure. We should be much better at that. Personally, I would like to see the WRU oversee and run all the academies, and run them like they do in Ireland and New Zealand, for example. The Irish system is certainly producing talent year on year. Everything would come through the umbrella of the WRU, and everyone would be on the same page. It’s certainly not working quite right at the moment.
Getting the right structure in place is so important. We must also remember that the schools and clubs play a vital part too, if not the most important one - the academies must never be the only way.
If we can get that right, then hopefully we’ll see things change over time at the regional and international level. What 2025 will bring remains to be seen, but here’s hoping that things start to turn around for Welsh rugby.
