The Wales men’s international side is regarded as the pinnacle of Welsh rugby.
Having not recorded a Test victory in 2024, two wins this year against Japan and staying in the world’s top 12 to avoid a harder World Cup pool draw might be deemed as progress.
Not really.
In 2025, Wales have had three men’s head coaches, extended their unwanted record against tier one countries to 18 successive Test defeats, suffered a second successive Six Nations clean sweep of defeats and been humiliated in Cardiff with record home losses against England, Argentina and South Africa.
Played 10, lost 10. That was the dismal record of Wales’ two national sides in the 2025 Six Nations over the space of 86 difficult days.
From the 43-0 Friday night Paris mauling suffered by the men’s side in January, to the 44-12 hammering inflicted by Italy’s women in late April, it proved a miserable three months as both sides finished rock bottom.
After Warren Gatland resigned in February following defeat by Italy in Rome, Matt Sherratt took over as interim boss for the rest of the Six Nations and the summer tour of Japan before Steve Tandy was appointed prior to the autumn internationals.
There might have been a change of personnel but the chastening days will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.
It was hard to see how losing 68-14 and conceding 10 tries against England at the Principality Stadium in March could be topped.
That was before the 73-0 loss at the hands of South Africa at the end of November, the second worst result in Welsh rugby’s history. Those two days have been among the bleakest known.
There was no surprise when there was a record low of two players, captain Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams, named in the British and Irish Lions touring party to Australia.
Morgan came on as a replacement and produced a controversial, crucial clearout in the winning score that sealed the second Test and the series.
But apart from that moment, Welsh rugby seemed like a watching bystander to the combined success of England, Ireland and Scotland.