Wales’ 22-15 defeat by Italy in Rome made it a record-extending 14 losses in a row for a team that has now fallen below Georgia to 12th in the world rankings.
Former Wales international James Hook said on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast: “The scoreline definitely flattered Wales. Italy were completely dominant and Wales were second in pretty much every facet of the game.
“The frustration from Welsh supporters is that we’ve not seen any progression either. If you see some sort of development and something to be optimistic about, you think ‘OK, we are actually developing’. But we haven’t really improved.”
Warren Gatland wants to fight on as head coach but, with another Wooden Spoon potentially looming, what positives can Wales take from their final three games against Ireland, Scotland and England?
Ex-captain Sam Warburton said on BBC One: “All I want to see is some players – there won’t be 10 of them – but we need three, four or five, on top of people like Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams, to say: ‘I’m an international-class player and this is going to be my shirt for the next five to 10 years’.
“We need guys to step up and own that shirt.”
Questions, of course, are being asked about what can be done to arrest the national team’s decline and Jones, like many other pundits and journalists, believes the problems are deep-rooted.
“It goes back 10-15 years,” he said. “It’s about management, finances, pathways – there is so much to fix and it’s a depressing situation when you think what a great rugby nation this is.”
