Wales' issues to address after record Pumas defeat

Wales have not won an international home match since August 2023

Autumn Nations Series: Wales v Japan

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday 15 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Coverage: Commentary on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and live text on BBC Sport online.

Wales began the Steve Tandy era with an emphatic defeat as Argentina claimed a record 52-28 victory in Cardiff.

Tandy became the first Welshman to take control of the men's national team on a permanent basis since 2007.

The size of the task facing the former Scotland defence coach was laid out in no uncertain terms as Wales suffered a 10th successive home international loss.

And his side will have to try and halt this record without inspirational captain Jac Morgan, who has been ruled out of the autumn series after suffering a dislocated shoulder.

Wales had ended a run of 18 successive Tests defeats in Japan four months ago and will now look to defeat the same opposition next Saturday when Eddie Jones' team arrive in Cardiff.

This is before the top two sides in the world roll into town with New Zealand and South Africa completing Wales' autumn programme.

BBC Sport Wales has a look at the long list of things Tandy needs to address.

No quick fix

Managing expectations and dealing with the reactions to a record defeat is one of the first things Tandy will have to deal with.

It is tricky to balance another humbling record home defeat, and losing your best player in Morgan, with some renewed hope about the attack.

Shipping a record number of points and losing by the largest margin against Argentina reinforces where Wales are after a disastrous couple of years and why there is need for change.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has announced they are cutting a professional side but have no proposed timetable yet on when that will occur or how they can achieve their goal.

The difference in class between the two sides shows how the gap has widened in recent years.

Tandy admitted afterwards there will be no silver bullet surrounding the on-the-field issues.

This assessment has been backed up by former internationals who point out this was Tandy's first game in charge and he has had less than two weeks with his new squad.

Put simply, people want Tandy to succeed.

"Argentina have played some world-class rugby over the last few months, while Wales are also a new group coming together," former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees told BBC Radio Wales.

"People have got to be invested for the long term. There's a good core group of players, but we've got to understand where we are in the pecking order at the moment. There is no quick fix and it will take time."

Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones agreed.

"There is optimism around Steve and his side after two years of suffering," Jones told S4C.

"In those two years, there wasn't any attacking or creative rugby.

"Today, we saw aspects of the team improving but it shows it's a long-term project, there is a lot of coaching to do.

"That's the magnitude of the task but everyone is behind them wanting them to succeed."

Defensive woes and aerial concerns

Tandy was defence coach with Scotland and the British and Irish Lions, and will not be happy with his side missing more than 30 tackles and yielding seven tries.

He currently has no permanent defence coach in his backroom staff, although he has brought in former Wales flanker Dan Lydiate to help during this autumn campaign.

"I do think it's fixable," said Tandy.

"There's probably a couple that you can't do anything about but there's also definitely massive fix-ups."

Rees believes Wales could not cope with the Argentina power.

"You can tell Argentina have been playing rugby these last few months," said Rees.

"Wales have struggled to deal with the intensity and physicality of Argentina today."

Former Wales flanker Jones added: "Steve and his coaches know Wales have to improve defensively. You can't concede over 50 points at home."

Wales were also dominated in the air by Argentina. Diminutive full-back Blair Murray was a threat in attack but struggled under the high ball bombardment.

"Aerially, Argentina were outstanding," said Tandy

"They had a lot of pay from loose balls. There's areas for us to grow, but it's early days."

Former Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland believes Wales were under the cosh in this facet.

"A lot of the pressure that Wales were under came from the kicking game," Preistland told S4C.

"When Argentina put the ball in the air, they were winning it almost every time and that put Wales under so much pressure."

Was Ben Thomas lucky not to have been sent off?

Ben Thomas plays centre for Cardiff

Wales, who had fought back to level after conceding 14 points in the opening 10 minutes, had two yellow cards either side of half-time with Ben Thomas and Tomos Williams both sent to the sin bin.

"You can't go through playing against a team like Argentina with 20 minutes of the game with 14 men," said Tandy.

"It's tough against any team. It takes the legs out of you. It's something we will look at. We've got to be smart in international rugby."

Thomas headed to the sidelines after kicking out at Argentina captain Pablo Matera when having his leg held on the ground.

The fact Thomas did not make contact with Matera probably spared him a red card upon review, but Argentina took advantage of their numerical advantage to establish a 24-14 lead with the Wales centre off the pitch.

Whether Thomas will face any further disciplinary sanctions remains to be seen.

"There's not a real angle from what I've seen that is conclusive to what it is," said Tandy.

"There's lots going on, but if it is lashing out you can't do that in a game.

"There's a lot of holding [by Matera] on the floor and we'll probably get a better angle sometime that I can assess it better.

"It's something I want to look at further. I know how things can look in slow-motion if you are getting held on the floor."

Should Louis Rees-Zammit start against Japan?

Louis Rees-Zammit has played 33 internationals for Wales

There were bright spots for Wales with wing Louis Rees-Zammit showing electric pace when he came on as a second-half replacement.

Bristol's Rees-Zammit was playing his first international for more than two years after his 18-month adventure in the NFL.

Now Tandy will have to decide whether to hand the 24-year-old a start against Japan next Saturday.

"It's exciting and how he's got back up to speed so quickly is outstanding," said Tandy.

"There were a couple of moments he could have walked off with two tries.

"He's probably still getting back up to where he wants to be but having him back in the side, with his pace and power, is great for us and he'll add to our game."

Wales also looked more dangerous managing four tries as attack coach Matt Sherratt seeks to put his imprint on the playing style.

"Scoring four tries is an outstanding start for us, but we can't be conceding seven either," said Tandy.

"There's lots to like from the performance, but lots of areas where need to grow too."