Last-gasp success but Welsh rugby remains a mess

Wales won seven out of 18 games in the 2023-24 season with two of those victories coming in uncapped matches

Finally a win for Wales to end another turbulent year.

Yes, it came in an uncapped match against a second-string Queensland Reds side by just one point and needed a final-minute try from Kieran Hardy.

Post-match celebrations between Wales head coach Warren Gatland and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Abi Tierney demonstrated what the win meant to the squad after eight months without victory.

In that moment you sensed how long Wales have gone without any form of success.

The Suncorp Stadium win will not mask a desperate year which has seen Wales slip to an all-time low of 11th in the world rankings, finish bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 21 years and lose the Test series 2-0 in Australia.

Gatland's side have lost nine internationals in a row and will be hoping to avoid a record-equalling 10th loss when they are next in action against Fiji in Cardiff in November.

So regardless of what happened on an exciting final night of the season in Brisbane, Welsh rugby remains in a mess on and off the field.

Hill debacle

Cory Hill has played 34 internationals for Wales

The build-up to the game was controversial after Gatland originally gave Cory Hill the captaincy for the Australia tour finale.

The lock withdrew from Friday's game due to "personal reasons", with scrum-half Gareth Davies taking over the armband.

Hill was named among a group of individuals that damaged a woman's house in May 2021.

He was not charged by police and he apologised at the time through a representative.

Gatland's decision to make the 32-year-old skipper was revealed on Wednesday, when Hill told reporters he regretted that incident and publicly apologised.

The decision sparked a negative reaction on social media, with Gatland admitting afterwards he had made a mistake in appointing Hill as captain.

It was a situation that could have been easily avoided and the debacle leaves lingering questions for the WRU and Gatland.

Tough times

Warren Gatland won three Grand Slams during his first stint in charge of Wales

They say never go back and that has been the challenge for Gatland since he returned to replace Wayne Pivac in December 2022.

There was relative success in the 2023 World Cup where Gatland guided Wales to winning the group, before quarter-final defeat against Argentina.

Since then it has been a downward spiral with the only victories coming in uncapped matches against Barbarians and Queensland Reds.

Gatland has won only six games in 21 Tests with 15 defeats, a success rate of below 30%.

The New Zealander was not used to level of failure during his first stint in charge of Wales.

There are two clear schools of thought from fans with regards to Gatland's Wales future.

One camp urges the WRU to get rid of Gatland, saying it is a results-based business, he is past his best and the team is poorly coached, alongside concerns about how he handled the Hill saga.

The other camp say they recognise the major challenges facing Welsh rugby and Gatland is the man for the job to reinvent this side, while the cash-strapped WRU would struggle to afford another hefty pay-off.

Gatland, himself, is giving no indication publicly he will walk away from this project.

"It's been challenging but I've loved it because it's been different," said Gatland.

"The challenge has been dealing with a group of players that you feel you're going right back to the start again in terms of coaching and covering things off.

"It is difficult to cover every aspect of the game. There's lots of things we've worked on with this group and we've seen some improvements."

Faith in youth

Gatland has repeatedly claimed this is a long-term project towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia as he builds a new youthful but inexperienced side.

Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric, Leigh Halfpenny and George North have been lost to international retirement.

Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams and Adam Beard were unavailable for this tour through injury.

Number eight Aaron Wainwright joined them on the sidelines with a hamstring problem following his outstanding performance against the Wallabies in the first Test in Sydney.

Josh Adams, Will Rowlands and Ryan Elias were rested this summer, while Gareth Anscombe is still feeling his way back after a long-term groin injury.

While Gatland has lost experience, he has also baffled many with some of his choices.

He has not picked in-form players like Ospreys duo Nicky Smith and Morgan Morris and made decisions to play individuals out of position, most notably Mason Grady at inside centre.

Gatland has preferred to select young players and this has resulted in situations where Bath duo Archie Griffin and Regan Grace are playing their first professional competitive matches for Wales rather than their clubs.

"We honestly believe this is going to be a good team," said Gatland.

"We just need a bit of time together. In terms of how young the players are, we know we've got some quality to come back with players who weren't on tour.

"It's about developing the depth in the squad, so if we do pick up injuries in the future, guys have had experience wearing the jersey.

"We've been clear we want to work towards the next World Cup. That's been our goal and we know it's going to take a bit of time."

Summer break

Wing Rio Dyer has played in 17 out of 18 Wales games this season

So this seemingly never-ending season is finally over. For some of the Wales players it started 13 months ago with the gruelling World Cup training camps.

The players that toured Australia will now have some time off, although such is the nature of modern professional rugby, the four Welsh regions are already back in pre-season training with friendlies for the new season starting in six weeks.

Wales' next involvement is the autumn series in November where they play Fiji, Australia and South Africa in Cardiff.

Whether the coaching structure will be the same remains to be seen but Gatland has a clear message to the players.

"They need to make sure they continue to work hard over the next three months, when they go back to their clubs," said Gatland.

"They need to turn up, having worked on the things we've worked on in the last few months.

"They need to come back in good shape for the autumn when we know we've got experience back.

"Hopefully, with the development we've done with such a young group, we can look forward to a strong autumn campaign."

Long-suffering Welsh fans can only hope that is true.