LONG READ Wales need to back up Ireland performance and rattle Scotland's self-belief

The former world motor racing champion Mario Andretti, who once drove a car at 200mph, memorably reckoned: “If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” Let’s take a punt and suggest work colleagues of a nervous disposition were not at the front of the queue for a lift home when the Italian-American was behind the wheel after clocking off back in the day.

Anyway, does Matt Sherratt have everything under control? Which rugby coach does?

Sherratt certainly wasn’t in control of circumstances last week when he saw 12 England-based players head back to their clubs as per player-release rules, a far from ideal situation for a coach looking to bond his squad and prepare for a testing Six Nations fixture against Scotland at Murrayfield.

But that is where the Wales head coach is at with so many of his squad based outside Welsh borders these days. Preparations are affected – of course they are. With six squad members going back to the regions, Sherratt and his coaches had just 20 players in training during the week after the Ireland game. However you cut it, that’s not great.

But no-one can accuse the man known as Jockey of not moving fast enough after taking over the reins from Warren Gatland. In week one of his interim tenure, he recalled three players to the national squad, brought in a new coach, TR Thomas, nailed his team selection and, in just four sessions, oversaw a tactical makeover that spurred the players into producing the best Wales performance in a long time. “All of a sudden, from the depths of gloom, Sherratt has given Welsh rugby some hope and that’s fantastic,” enthused Sir Clive Woodward in a column for the Daily Mail.

But it must only be the beginning. If anything, this weekend will be just as big a challenge for Sherratt and his players as they are away from Cardiff and the bounce-factor that marks the appointment of a new coach may not be so pronounced for the second outing under his command.

Whisper it, but there may also be a dot of hope among Welsh supporters, whereas for the Ireland game the only hope was that Wales wouldn’t get flogged by a cricket score.

A loss to a Wales side on a run of 15 defeats might not see SRU officials reaching for the 2025 version of the Yellow Pages for a cab to send Townsend on his way, but it would lead to searching questions being asked.

The certainty is this weekend’s opponents will be desperate for a win after losing to Ireland and England. Gregor Townsend’s team played some nice rugby at Twickenham and boast a set of backs who weave intricate patterns. Despite the losses in their last two games, the Scots also quietly fancy their chances – not so quietly in some cases, with the former scrum-half Rory Lawson saying that losing to Wales would be “incomprehensible”, a quote that may just find its way into Sherratt’s team talk.

 What a surprise home defeat would do is heap more pressure on head coach Townsend, whose side remain stubbornly stuck with mid-table status despite all their pretty rugby. In the Six Nations era, not once have the Scots managed to finish above third.

A loss to a Wales side on a run of 15 defeats might not see SRU officials reaching for the 2025 version of the Yellow Pages for a cab to send Townsend on his way, but it would lead to searching questions being asked.

Reasons to be motivated will not be in short supply for the hosts, then, and no-one in the Wales camp will be expecting anything other than a stern test, with history backing up that line of thinking. Fancied Wales sides, after all, have struggled in the Scottish capital: in 1973 and 1975, for instance, teams in red studded with big names and colossal reputations fell to Murrayfield defeats, with hopes of a Grand Slam going west on the second of those occasions.

In 1987, a fired-up Scottish pack, with David Sole to the fore, propelled the Welsh forwards backwards at scrum-time at such speed there were mild concerns the visiting eight might end up at the top end of Princes Street before the 80 minutes were done.

Sole caused all kinds of problems for debut-making Wales tighthead Peter Francis. Amid the carnage, referee Keith Lawrence prompted an all-time classic quote when he said to Wales lock Bob Norster: “I’m not happy with your tight-head prop.” Norster’s reply? “You’re not happy. How do you think I feel?” Maybe we can all agree no-one in the Wales side was overly happy on the day.

In a difficult campaign for Wales so far, the cornerstone of three Welsh Grand Slam campaigns joining the Welsh coaching team has been a significant plus, with Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee and WillGriff John forcing four scrum penalties out of Ireland.

Quite what Adam Jones would have made of all that we can only surmise. In a difficult campaign for Wales so far, the cornerstone of three Welsh Grand Slam campaigns joining the Welsh coaching team has been a significant plus, with Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee and WillGriff John forcing four scrum penalties out of Ireland.

Whatever tips the newly appointed scrum doctor passed on to John, in particular, evidently did the trick as the largely unheralded Sale Sharks No. 3 asked difficult questions of the much-vaunted Andrew Porter.

Smith, too, more than justified his selection. Early in his career the former Swansea and Ospreys man was described as the kind of neighbour you’d want to give an unresponsive car a shove on an icy morning in the depths of winter. Against Ireland, he used technique as well as strength to get the job done. You were left wondering how on earth only 22 of his 52 caps have been won as a starter.

🎥 TOM ROGERS!! Splashes down in the corner for Wales!! 😍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿#guinnessm6n pic.twitter.com/eQgZkaPKJV

— Guinness Men’s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 24, 2025

Is he a Lion in waiting? Potentially, because at 30 he is in his prime and there is much more to his game than scrummaging, with Waunarlwydd RFC product adept at turning over opposition ball and twisting his way out of tackles, as well as hitting hard in defence. But he needs to back up his effort against the Irish.

Others in the Welsh camp with aspirations to head to Australia with the best of British and Irish rugby will also know they need to finish the Six Nations strongly. Right now, Jac Morgan is among those who should be clearing the decks for six weeks away, potentially Taulupe Faletau as well. Tomos Williams has a fine body of work in the English Premiership to back up his claims, while Tommy Reffell will be in the conversation and so will Dewi Lake if he can hit the ground running after his return from injury. Dafydd Jenkins, Will Rowlands, Gareth Thomas? Who knows?

WillGriff John? A few weeks ago the possibility of the 32-year-old touring with the Lions seemed roughly in the same ballpark as Upper Cwmtwrch sending a rocket to Mars before Elon Musk. It’s probably still significant odds against – John bolting into the Lions set-up, that is, – but causing the highly rated Porter problems was a significant notch on his belt.

What Wales will want to guard against is a regression to their bad old ways. Few will expect them to win against Scotland, but there will be hope that they can deliver another performance to confirm the belief post-Ireland that they are heading in the right direction.

Back to Sherratt and the immediate task ahead. Presumably, he will want his players to continue to play the shackles-off rugby they came up with against Ireland, when the back three of Blair Murray, Tom Rogers and Ellis Mee were especially impressive.

What more can be said about Mee? Barely a year ago, he was playing for Nottingham against Ampthill in front of a crowd of 523. If the national newspaper headlines a week last Sunday weren’t quite all about Mee, it is fair to say there were plenty of admiring words written on the 21-year-old after his effort on the big stage against Ireland. His bullet-train ride from the far side of nowhere to the international arena has been startling and then a bit more.

What Wales will want to guard against is a regression to their bad old ways. Few will expect them to win against Scotland, but there will be hope that they can deliver another performance to confirm the belief post-Ireland that they are heading in the right direction.

Encouragingly for Welsh rugby, players outside the national squad are putting their hands up again. Keiran Williams, a man you would not want to stand in the way of if he were running for a train, played outstandingly for the Ospreys in their win over Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun, while Kieran Hardy also shone, in his case with superb support running.

And Morgan Morse continues to build his reputation. “The energy of the bloke is ridiculous,” said James Hook after the youngster’s effort against Glasgow. “He’d play three games in a day if he could. He just loves it.” Sooner or later the back rower is going to receive a Wales call – probably sooner, all things considered.

For the Scarlets, the 20-year-old Macs Page is already putting together quite the highlights showreel, with his display against Ulster at the old Ravenhill highlighting his pace and power.  The much-respected Press Association rugby correspondent Andrew Baldock referred to Page as a “Wales international in waiting”; few would disagree with that assessment.

Maybe some might even say the same about the Dragons’ Huw Anderson, a shooting star if ever there was one, with the full-back blessed with pace, an eye for a gap and a spirit of adventure. And against Leinster, Cardiff’s Cameron Winnett banged in a fine performance that had ‘don’t forget about me’ written all over it.

Green shoots for Welsh rugby, then. But the national side need to produce more of the same against Scotland. One performance counts for only so much.