BBC Sport pundits on Wales' long-awaited win

BBC News

a day ago

The wait is finally over… Wales secured a much needed victory after a dismal run stretching back 644 days.Wales' 31-22 win over Japan in Kobe levelled the series 1-1 but more importantly ended an 18-Test losing streak.Matt Sherratt's side withheld a spirited second-half Japan comeback and the tourists had reason to celebrate for the first time in 21 months.Wales' previous win was against Georgia in the 2023 World Cup, and it was a welcome victory in the fifth and final game in charge for interim head coach Sherratt.The Welsh Rugby Union's appointment of a permanent successor to Warren Gatland, who stepped down during the Six Nations, is expected in the next few weeks.The new appointment will now not be burdened by the losing streak but will face a tough task transforming the fortunes of Welsh rugby, beginning with a tough Autumn series which features New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Argentina as opponents.BBC Sport pundits had their say on the long-awaited win in Japan and what next for Welsh rugby.
'Relief. Pure relief'
Ex-Wales international James Hook told the Scrum V podcast:"Relief, that's the word isn't it, relief. I saw Dewi Lake's interview at the end it's just pure relief."You could see it on the players and Matt Sherratt's face at the end, and they nearly threw it away in the second-half, but they found a way to win didn't they."When Japan scored those two tries I said 'here we go again' but they found a way to win and that's all that matters in the end."Come September we need a couple of key building blocks in place, we need a head coach."The regions, whether we're going to lose a region, go down to two, go down to three, whatever it is, that needs to be sorted."You don't expect it to happen overnight but something needs to be done in the next couple of months."The autumn's going to be a tough campaign, New Zealand and South Africa aren't going to be quaking in their boots after that performance."
'New slate for the incoming coach... whoever that may be'
Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones on the Scrum V podcast:"It's massive. They came off last week and you just wanted to give them a hug."You felt so sorry for them, they'd come so close – 'when is this ever going to end?'."That's the most important thing, the narrative has to change, the headlines have to change now."The series of losses has gone, it's a new slate for the incoming coach, whoever that may be."We're getting closer to World Cup time, that shouldn't cloud our decision making too much."But the team needs a proper head coach and a coaching team around that can work together with the regions."It will be constantly spoken about until the decision is made, and then that's always going to drive the narrative."For the players themselves, if they don't know their future how can they commit to what they're doing."There's no tight timescale for it, but you do expect it to happen over the next two months, you'd expect something to be announced."
'You've got to give credit to those boys'
Former Wales wing Alex Cuthbert told BBC Radio Wales' Rob and Molly show:"Wales going through this run of not being able to win, it's a habit that sticks with you and the pressure builds and builds."You could see it last week. This week they just seemed to manage it a lot better."You've got to give credit to those boys, they've had such a tough year."Someone like Aaron Wainwright has not won a game of rugby this year - it is good to see and just to get that monkey off their back."Whoever comes in now doesn't have that hanging around their neck like Matt Sherratt said."To get the win, for me now it's a complete clean slate, it's a new era at Welsh Rugby."
'Enjoy the moment... but a lot of work to do'
Former Wales captain Ken Owens on S4C's Y Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol:"Credit to the players, they've found a way to win, and that's what was important at this point."To be fair, right in the middle of the second half Wales were under a lot of pressure, Japan raised their game."But in the last five minutes Wales found something and they found a way to win and scored a great try at the end."You need to celebrate this, it's been a very hard couple of years for the players, especially with what's happening at the regions."There were a lot of good aspects to the game and also a lot of things to learn from. "The young players will gain valuable experience."We won't now be talking about the run of losing games and we have to enjoy this moment, but realise there's a lot of work to do within the game."