What next for Wales after another winless Six Nation?

ByCeri Coleman-Phillips

BBC Sport Wales

"We cannot be in this position again".

Those were the wounded words of then Wales captain Hannah Dallavalle after Wales were thumped 44-12 by Italy in last year's Six Nations finale.

The result condemned Wales to a first ever clean sweep of defeats in the tournament's history.

Twelve months on and Wales find themselves in the same sorry position - another heavy loss to Italy and another Wooden Spoon.

Not the sort of history they want to be repeating.

After a dismal World Cup last summer, Wales came into the Six Nations with a low bar, but there was a quiet optimism around camp.

Lynn had brought in the players and coaches he wanted but someone clearly forgot to change the script from last year.

The former Gloucester-Hartpury coach pointed to the small wins throughout the campaign - improved defence against France and four tries against England - but the final table does not lie - five games, five losses.

"We've just got to be better," he said.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I am still very excited to see where this group can go because we want to work hard.

"I really do think the gap is closing. I just think the consistency has to happen at club level so it becomes a good habit when you're in Test match rugby."

Lynn succeed Ioan Cunningham as Wales head coach in January 2025 and is yet to taste anything other than defeat in a Six Nations match.

In fact, under his leadership Wales have won just once in 15 Tests and speaking before the Italy defeat former Wales number eight Sioned Harries told the BBC that questions over his future were already being asked.

"He was successful with Hartpury, but he had no real experience of coaching at international level," said Harries.

"The expectations were high – we haven't had the results and I think it's more than fair that questions will be asked if the team loses on Sunday."

Following the latest loss on Sunday, Lynn said he felt the pain of another winless campaign but remained optimistic.

But former Wales captain Rachel Taylor now believes the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) must address the issue of his future.

"I'd like to see the WRU come out and support him after this campaign, because it was a tough gig to take," she told Radio Wales Breakfast.

"He's taken it with a development focus and now he needs the buy-in of the Union behind him and the backing of the Union to say 'yes' but also the investment.

"This is his chance now to build his coaching staff, his team with new contracts and then give him another cycle to see if we can get results."

However, despite Taylor's call for that support, a return of just one win in 15 Tests means patience is wearing thin.

Ex-forward Harries was in the Wales set-up up until a couple of years ago and questions the constant "journey" players and coaches refer to.

"How long does one team have to be on a journey for? I feel, at this point, we're running out of excuses," Harries said.

"We still have the same player group. We don't have the pool of players available to us as other nations – they are developing at a quicker pace – but we've got experienced players. There was a combined 542 caps in the starting 15 [against Italy]."

Philippa Tuttiett agreed change was needed.

"Changes are being made, more progressions are happening but they are not happening quick enough," she said.

"Other teams in Six Nations are progressing, other teams in world rugby are progressing.

"It's going to be another difficult review of this campaign. Players left it all out there, you can never doubt that."

If games could be won over 40 minutes, Wales would have finished a lot higher.

With improvements in both attack and defence, they deservedly led Scotland at the break, only to be undone by a couple of Helen Nelson kicks.

France also found Wales hard to break down and were held to 7-7 at half-time before launching a second-half onslaught.

Wales saved their best attacking display for England, pulling off two sleek lineout moves before two late scores to claim a try bonus-point and their highest ever tally against the world champions.

But performances against Ireland and Italy fell worryingly flat.

"The breakdown just killed us," Lynn said after the Italy game.

"The big aim that we were going after was that third quarter, that's been a really big area for us to be focusing on. We'll have to have a real deep dive into that."

Wales captain Bethan Lewis said it was a case of "dipping in energy".

"We show that we've got the energy in the last few minutes but we need to be doing that at the 50th minute, not waiting," she said.

"It's making sure that we're energised and clinical at the right times before it becomes out of reach."

Wales were without one of their best players for the entire campaign with Alex Callender injured.

That left Kate Williams in sole charge until she was also ruled out for the rest of the tournament after just two games.

So the captaincy fell to Lewis but, as former skipper Siwan Lillicrap pointed out, there was a lack of leadership around her.

"Bethan Lewis steadied the ship and is doing a really good job, but what are the leaders around her? It's a young and inexperienced side," she said.

Wales were also without in-form Nel Metcalfe, who had been the standout player of the World Cup, with fellow wings Lisa Neumann and Catherine Richards and lock Gwen Crabb later joining her on the sidelines .

"I'm not making any excuses, but we've got five key players out for us," Lynn said.

Lynn named nine uncapped players in his Six Nations squad and showed he was not afraid to throw them straight in, with Jorja Aiono, Branwen Metcalfe and Seren Lockwood looking every bit at home in Test rugby.

There were also debuts for Seren Singleton, Freya Bell, Nikita Prothero and Jenna De Vera.

But it was the ball-carrying ability of Aiono which made her standout.

The sight of the teenager sitting down one of the best players in the world in Aoife Wafer while on the charge in Belfast will live long in the memory.

"I think the youngsters are doing a really good job," said Wales Under-18s head coach Lillicrap.

"Jorja is 19-years-old, she's always getting gainline - whether she plays in the back row or second row - whenever she carries.

"She's a physical player and at her age she's just going to get better and better."

Wales' skillset and depth of the player pool remain up for debate.

Interim attack coach Ashley Beck said: "If the skill level isn't as good as it should be, it doesn't matter what shapes you play.

"If we want to play an exciting brand of rugby and compete against the best, the skill development needs to be better."

Beck's view was echoed by former Wales fly-half James Hook who was among the Scrum V pundits on Sunday. He also questioned whether Wales' players are putting in the extras to improve as individuals.

"Whether it's working on your kicking for an hour a day, your throwing, your passing, your tackling - are these players doing that? I don't know," said Hook.

"From my experience, once the team session is finished, your individual job still needs to continue."

Wales' strength in depth was also discussed on the panel, with Wales clearly in need of some reinforcement at fly-half.

Lillicrap said: "People have been calling out Lleucu George saying it needs to change there, but ultimately who comes in? If you take her off the field what other tens have you got?"

"As a fly-half on an international stage, you've got to run this team, you can't throw a youngster into that lion's den."

Wales' bruised and battered players will have a week off before most head back to their Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) clubs for the business end of the season.

They will then return to international duty on 27 June when they take on the Barbarians in a double header at Twickenham.

Lynn will be without players involved in the PWR final which falls on the same weeknd, so it could be an opportunity to roll the dice and try out some new players.

June will also see Nadine Griffiths begin her new role as the WRU's director of women's rugby and will no doubt have Wales' interest in joining an expanded PWR in her in-tray.

In the meantime, the WRU has advertised for permanent attack and forwards coaches, with Beck and Steve Salvin only in the roles on an interim basis.

Those appointments will be made in time for what Lynn has promised a "huge pre-season" ahead of the new WXV Global Series in the autumn.

Wales host South Africa on 18 September and USA on 26 September before travelling to Japan for two Tests in October.

With these fixtures contributing to World Cup qualification in 2029, it is imperative Wales start winning or everything Lynn is building towards, could very well not happen.