A weekend in Cardiff that combined Valentine’s Day with Wales’ Six Nations home game would have proved to be the perfect Welsh rugby love story.
But there’s a chill in the air for Welsh rugby to match the frigid February temperatures.
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France fans were out and about in Cardiff this weekend with smiles on their faces, epitomized by the raucous traveling support as the Under-20s beat impressive Welsh youngsters at Arms Park on Saturday night.
The love for Welsh rugby has been falling out of favor for some time.
Could Sunday’s shock Six Nations victory over France somehow rekindle the romance and regain the love for Steve Tandy’s side?
The odds are slim, but you can dare to dream.
Will fans stay away?
The build-up to the game is almost as much about how many people won’t turn up this weekend as it is about the game itself, and whether there will be empty seats at the Principality Stadium.
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Tandy insists Wales is a “rugby nation” despite tens of thousands of unsold tickets for Sunday’s game with France and home games against Scotland and Italy.
Wales has a history of posting “sold out” signs for test matches at its 74,500-seat Principality Stadium home, where rugby is often referred to as the “national sport”.
The lowest attendance for a Wales home Six Nations match against France was in 2022, when 63,208 people watched the Friday night game.
Two years later, the same game was played on Sunday and attracted 71,242 spectators. The lowest attendance for this tournament at Wales’ home ground was 58,349 against Italy in 2002.
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It has been suggested that the cost of attending matchdays in Cardiff is the reason some fans stay away from Cardiff.
Some believe that 60,000 people in a small country to watch a struggling team on Sunday is still a healthy number.
Especially when you consider that a few decades ago when Welsh football was struggling, attendances were around 3,000.
There were also claims that seats were empty and some tickets were being given away indicative of the current turmoil in Welsh rugby.
The struggling side
Wales have won just one international match in Cardiff since the 2023 World Cup [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
People are watching the demise of Wales, a country that has enjoyed Six Nations success and Grand Slam triumphs over the past two decades.
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Passionate fans will try their best to stay with their beloved team through thick and thin, but it has proven to be a tumultuous period since the 2023 World Cup.
Wales have lost 22 of their last 24 international games, including an 18-match losing streak, with their only two wins coming against Japan.
The Six Nations have lost 12 games in a row, a streak stretching back 1,072 days before Wales beat Italy in Rome in March 2023.
Wales have not won a game in Cardiff for four years, since defeating Scotland in February 2022. That was 1,464 days ago.
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The same goes for recent home defeats, with record-breaking defeats to England (68-14), Argentina (52-28) and South Africa (73-0).
Even in November’s loss to New Zealand, Wales showed some signs of recovery, but ultimately lost to New Zealand 52-26.
Despite this result, captain Devi Lake was full of praise for the environment at the Principality Stadium.
“This is our stadium, the best stadium in the world, and we’re happy to be back home,” Lake said.
“Our goal when we play on the field is to engage the fans and give them life and energy because that feeds back to us.”
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Wales needs to back up these inspiring words with action.
Coaching Dilemma
Matt Sherratt and Danny Wilson are the only two permanent members of Steve Tandy’s coaching staff [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
It was always going to be a difficult task for Tandy when he took over last year, and his baptism has proven that.
Wales lost four of their first five games in charge, conceding 248 points and 34 tries.
That means averaging 50 points and seven tries per game, with Tandy admitting he is looking to bring in a defensive coach so he doesn’t have to continue in those two roles.
Tandy has also been plagued by an ill-disciplined team that has picked up 10 yellow cards and one red card in these five games.
Led by Tandy, Wales face three of the best teams in the world – England, New Zealand and South Africa, followed today by fourth-placed France.
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Despite lacking depth and quality, Wales do have top players competing in the English and French leagues.
There was a feeling that a team capable of fielding Tomos Williams, Dewey Lake, Dafydd Jenkins, Reece Carre, Louis Rees-Zammit and Aaron Wainwright should have performed better, while Tandy’s continued exclusion of Leicester wing Tommy Reiffel baffled many.
Recent failures should not have the same shock value as before, nor should they be viewed as the new normal.
Tandy’s dilemma was how to make the most of the resources he had. He has not been able to do that in his short spell in charge so far and he will be hoping to change that against France.
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Not many would expect Wales to win a game in this tournament as the gap between them and the other five nations grows wider. However, they should expect a more competitive performance.
Welsh Rugby Union fails to win popularity contest
WRU CEO Abi Tierney and Chairman Richard Collier-Keywood [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
For many, the problem isn’t the coaches and players. This is the fault of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The WRU are not currently the most popular organization in Wales as they pursue a policy of cutting professional men’s teams.
Welsh rugby’s governing body insists there is not enough money or player base to maintain the four divisions and is sticking with the option of reducing to three teams which they first floated in October.
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The decision was seen by some as necessary to stem an alarming recession, but was met with fierce opposition from others.
This week one of the country’s most prominent businesswomen called on WRU president Richard Collier-Keywood to resign, while the governing body has written to clubs outlining hateful abuse at the hands of some WRU board members.
A few weeks ago, the WRU revealed that Ospreys owners Y11 Sport and Media were the preferred bidder to take over Cardiff, which has been owned by the WRU since entering administration in April 2025.
This has angered Ospreys supporters who fear they will no longer have a professional team beyond the 2026-27 season if the Cardiff deal goes through.
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They held protests, petitioned and attended meetings. Swansea City Council has taken legal action.
The focus has been on the WRU but it must also be remembered that Y11 are preparing to buy another Welsh team which could lead to the end of the professional entity they already have.
Fans took to social media to urge others to boycott the Wales game and not give any money to the WRU.
This could be counter-productive as more than 50% of the WRU’s turnover (money put back into the competition) comes from the men’s domestic and international teams.
But you can feel the power of emotion.
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French style
If Wales isn’t an attraction, a very special French team will come to Cardiff looking to defend their Six Nations title.
They are captained by superstar Antoine Dupont, who says the Stade de la Principal is his favorite stadium outside France.
“We respect the Welsh team and we know we can’t underestimate any opponent in international rugby,” Dupont said.
“We know where Wales is in because French rugby also went through a difficult time in the past, maybe ten years ago.
“They have some young players at the moment so they need time to gain experience at this level to win games.”
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There was much to like about the elegant rhetoric of the opponents in Cardiff this weekend.
Roosters defense coach Sean Edwards worked on Warren Gatland’s Wales coaching staff for 12 years and is also a popular figure with Wales fans.
Edwards reminds Wales of a more successful era. Welsh rugby reveled in the present but failed to prepare for the future.
Whether Welsh rugby can ever return to those great days remains to be seen.
At the moment, they remain a huge underdog in the recent Six Nations – and if they somehow managed to get past France, it would be one of the most romantic upsets of recent competition.
