Welsh rugby has lengthy had an unhealthy obsession with the quantity 10 however maybe this weekend it’s justified with an undesirable document lurking.
For the reason that days of Cliff Morgan to Barry John and Jonathan Davies, the quantity has shone as a logo of excellence.
Now it may signify a banner of failure as Wales intention to keep away from a tenth Take a look at defeat in a row.
Warren Gatland faces Fiji on Sunday determined to not equal the worst shedding run in Welsh rugby historical past.
It was, by coincidence, beneath one other New Zealander – Steve Hansen – that Wales sank to new depths between 2002 and 2003 earlier than Romania had been rolled out as cannon fodder earlier than that autumn’s World Cup.
There are clear parallels between every now and then and, at occasions, Gatland’s phrases may have come straight out of Hansen’s mouth 21 years on.
The necessity to fast-track a brand new crop of gamers on the sharp finish of Take a look at rugby – 13 uncapped gamers utilized in 2024 alone – in opposition to a interval of home upheaval.
In 2003, Welsh rugby was within the technique of ditching 120 years of historical past with the formation of areas, which at this time is combating to outlive.
The nationwide workforce is a mirrored image of the areas however for all the necessity for persistence as foundations are laid, a win on Sunday is now certainly a non-negotiable or Remembrance Day may very well be remembered in rugby for all of the unsuitable causes.
