LONG READ Can bruised Wales use the underdog tag to upset Scottish momentum?

The former world heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson used to carry a fake moustache, a beard, a hat and often dark glasses with him to fights so he could disguise himself if he lost. Such a move allowed him to slink out of town incognito, avoiding any opprobrium that might follow a setback.

There were no reports of Welsh players leaving the Principality Stadium in disguise last Sunday evening, but one or two could have been forgiven for contemplating such a move, such was the disillusionment after Wales’ 54-12 defeat by France.

The natives were not happy. There’s an old line from Doctor Who which advises “you’re not going to make the world any better by shouting at it”, but plenty had a go after the humbling by France, and particularly via social media, which positively blazed with discontent.

Maybe leading figures from the Welsh Rugby Union might have also been advised to exit the stadium undercover, if comments on X were anything to go by, with anger raging from A to Z and back again in the hours after Wales’ 13th successive Six Nations defeat. Fury at the plan to cut a region is not abating. Maybe it won’t subside for a long time if such a move goes ahead. Perhaps toxicity is here to stay. The union will hope not, but no one can be certain how all this will pan out.

In the meantime, Steve Tandy has the job of trying to put a handbrake stop on Wales’ grim sequence of results.

If the head coach is in the business of clinging to positives, he might point to the improvements that were evident in his side’s play eight days on from their dire effort against England at Twickenham.

One of those improvements did not include the start, which was again a shocker.

Indeed, at one stage, when Wales were down 19-0 after just 15 minutes, with France having run in three tries, the scene from the film Airplane! came to mind when the stewardess announces: “There’s no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?”

At that point it didn’t look as if Wales did have anyone on board who could do the necessary.

But they managed to avoid a complete blow-out – just – and might take a dot of encouragement from that.

Tandy’s team improved their discipline, conceding just nine penalties, the exact number they coughed up during the first 20 minutes in London. And Aaron Wainwright continues to shine in adversity.

Other areas that might be seen as grounds for quiet hope against Scotland? They achieved a 100 percent return on their own scrum and lineout ball for only the first time in 71 Tests since 2020. Even allowing for the fact that France played two non-specialist locks, that is something for Tandy to build on. Tomas Francis bolstered the Welsh scrum and Dewi Lake, the target for so much criticism the previous weekend, had a perfect day with his lineout darts.

Tandy’s team also improved their discipline, conceding just nine penalties, the exact number they coughed up during the first 20 minutes in London. And Aaron Wainwright continues to shine in adversity.

Yet the hosts were still on the wrong end of an eight-try hammering.

France were mesmerising and much better Wales sides than the one Tandy sent out last weekend would have struggled to contain them.

The visitors played heads-up rugby in the grand French tradition, with backs pinging the ball around and forwards looking as comfortable with ball in hand as they were doing the basics of their positions.

No disgrace in losing to that lot, then, but the worry for Wales is that they might start believing they can’t win any more. Their last four opponents have been New Zealand, South Africa, England and France – in boxing terms equivalent to a struggling middleweight taking on a peak-era Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard in consecutive bouts. Tandy’s team were never going to win any of those matches, but the sheer number of defeats Wales have suffered over the past three or so years is frightening.

They are now up to 23 losses from their last 25 games, with some players yet to taste victory in a red jersey. At what point does losing so often start to take a demoralising psychological toll?

All the more urgent, then, that results pick up quickly. Is it Wales’ misfortune to be this weekend playing a Scotland side fresh from a stylish and deserved victory over England? Maybe, maybe not. Scotland will feel super-good about themselves, for sure, but four years ago they came unstuck in Cardiff after winning the Calcutta Cup the previous weekend, momentum counting for nothing.

A priority for Wales should be to slow down opposition ball, an area where they haven’t excelled during the Tandy era. In six games, four opposing fly-halves have been named player of the match against them.

But Gregor Townsend’s side did play well against England last Saturday, strong at the breakdown with Rory Darge leading the way, and superb in the air, with Kyle Steyn and Tom Jordan to the fore. They were also rock-solid in midfield, with the powerful Sione Tuipulotu complementing the impressively sharp Huw Jones. Throw in the Murrayfield factor, ill-discipline and poor game management from the visitors, and it’s not hard to work out why the men in white were once again sent home tae think again.

A priority for Wales should be to slow down opposition ball, an area where they haven’t excelled during the Tandy era. In six games, four opposing fly-halves have been named player of the match against them – Geronimo Prisciantelli, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, George Ford and Jalibert.

It may just be a coincidence, of course, or it could be that all four have enjoyed armchair rides, with lashings of quick ball coming their way. If Wales allow the same to happen this weekend, it goes without saying that Finn Russell is more than good enough to take advantage.

Was it such a good idea to face France without a specialist openside? Short answer: No. Long answer: Absolutely not.

Wales also have to improve their defence. While they dug in at times against the French, official stats showed Tandy’s team conceded 28 linebreaks, roughly one every three minutes. At one point, the Welsh defence seemed to be letting more people through than the doormen of a busy hotel.

Struggling to achieve parity in the collisions didn’t help, but Wales were also ripped apart by French pace.

There is a lot more wrong with this Wales side than just one player. And it is worth remembering that Wales were awful without him during last year’s Six Nations and against South Africa in the autumn.

But, still, his mistakes were glaring against France.

Just to be clear: on any list of smart things to do on a rugby field, the practice of repeatedly booting the ball the way of Louis Bielle-Biarrey is unlikely to be found. Wales have to be better, much better.

Some forwards, such as Zinzan Brooke from bygone days, can kick a ball expertly. On the evidence of Sunday, Beard is no Zinzan, and he has been stepped down to face Scotland, with Ben Carter taking his place. Next time, the 6ft 8in lock would be better advised to take the ball forward and allow a back to lump it upfield if that is what the situation demands.

He wasn’t the only one who had a less than impressive day with the boot.

Indeed, the number of aimless kicks Wales put in was possibly only matched by the volume of texts this writer received during the game complaining about all the aimless kicks.

Just to be clear: on any list of smart things to do on a rugby field, the practice of repeatedly booting the ball the way of Louis Bielle-Biarrey is unlikely to be found. Wales have to be better, much better.

Right now, without a full-time defence coach and without a core of in-form players used to winning regularly in Test rugby, Tandy resembles a man trying to turn around an oil tanker with a canoe paddle.

Scotland will be favourites this weekend and so carry the burden of expectation. Maybe that will help Wales.

They really do need all the assistance going. But they also need to help themselves.