The 2017 Six Nations was a bit disappointing for Wales because the team I was part of then finished fifth, even though I don’t think that final position reflected our strength.
I was reminded of that campaign last week when Matt Sherratt was appointed as interim Wales head coach because that tournament was the first time I worked with him.
Eight years ago, Matt – who everyone in Welsh rugby knows as ‘Jockey’ – joined the Wales camp as an assistant coach on attack and as the No 10 at the time, we worked closely together. He was an excellent addition. Jockey’s meetings were always very funny.
He’d often start with an icebreaker, a laugh or a joke to lighten the mood. Test rugby is a serious business, but one thing Jockey is great at is making sure there is a balance to the environment between hard work and a bit of fun. We’d often have informal meetings over a coffee, looking at the laptop and discussing attacking plays together.
Jockey’s positive approach is exactly what Wales need right now. After a run of 14 straight defeats, it’s clear something wasn’t working and things had to change.
Warren Gatland has now departed as head coach as a result. Nobody will ever be able to argue with what Warren achieved in his first spell with Wales.
Matt Sherratt has been placed in charge of Wales for the rest of the Six Nations
Wales have hit rock-bottom after losing their last 14 Test matches and face Ireland on Saturday
Having worked with Sherratt, I believe his positive approach is exactly what Welsh rugby needs
His successes will never be taken away from him. His biggest strength for me was instilling confidence in us as players which allowed us to punch above our weight and win games.
There are wider extenuating circumstances, but that clearly wasn’t happening this time around. In many ways, removing Warren was the easy decision for Welsh rugby.
Now, their next big calls are set to define the game in Wales for the next 10 to 15 years. I really believe that to be the case.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has to get the permanent successor to Warren and the director of rugby appointments right.
Just as Warren was judged on results and paid the price for a run of 14 straight defeats, the WRU hierarchy will be judged on the big decisions they make now.
It’s not an easy position for them to be in. My opinion is that Ronan O’Gara would be the perfect man to take the coaching job, but he’s said he’s not overly interested in doing so.
Simon Easterby is an appointment that would make a lot of sense. He knows the Welsh system from playing and coaching at the Scarlets and lives in the Vale of Glamorgan.
But Easterby is currently in charge of Ireland for this Six Nations and is working in a really stable and successful environment. Would he want to leave? Only he will know.
Warren Gatland left his position last week after a dire run of results, but his first spell in charge of Wales will not be forgotten
Ronan O’Gara would be the perfect long-term replacement, but does not appear to be particularly interested in the job
Simon Easterby would also be a strong candidate but he may not want to leave Ireland
For me, Wales need someone with fresh ideas but what the WRU has to do is look at the whole Welsh rugby ecosystem and not just the national team.
That’s where the director of rugby comes in. It’s a big, big job. If the pathway systems aren’t improved, Wales could have Rassie Erasmus as head coach and things still wouldn’t change.
While the WRU is contemplating all these things in the background, Ireland are looming on the horizon on Saturday. It’s a daunting challenge for Wales and Jockey.
But I think it’s one the players will rise to.
Don’t get me wrong, no-one is expecting Wales to go from 14 losses in a row to derailing Ireland’s Grand Slam bid. So, it means this weekend is essentially a free shot.
Wales have to go out at a sold-out Principality Stadium with the mindset to try and attack Ireland because if they just look to absorb them, they’ll have no chance.
Jockey will be driving that mental shift. The fact he brought Gareth Anscombe, Max Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans straight into his squad last week showed he is not afraid to shake things up. And with minimal preparation time, it made sense to name the team to the players early. The expected back-line for Ireland with Gareth at 10, Ben Thomas at 12 and Llewellyn at 13 has a nice balance to it. What’s crucial is those guys all know Jockey well.
As a 10, I know how hard it is to change a team’s approach in just a matter of days. You can’t totally rip things up and start again. But in their Six Nations defeats by France and Italy so far, Wales have really struggled to win physical collisions and cross the gainline.
Although I’m no longer in the Wales camp, the anticipated back-line selection, plus picking two openside flankers in Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell, points towards a significant change in style and approach. Jockey is a very technical coach.
He focuses a lot on running lines and timing. He wants all of his players, regardless of whether you’re a forward or back, to be able to play with the ball.
Him bringing Nicky Smith back in at loosehead prop is a good example of that. What Nicky is really good at for a front-row forward is making pop passes and stepping at the line.
The key to Jockey’s game plan is varying the point of attack.
In their last few matches under Warren, Wales’ attacking shape has been very predictable and easy to defend against. There hasn’t been much deception and Welsh carriers have been running into brick walls. When you haven’t got the big and powerful players to punch through defensive lines, that means you end up going nowhere fast.
No one expects Wales to beat Ireland this weekend so it is somewhat of a free shot for Sherratt
Sherratt has made some significant changes to Wales’ squad, including bringing back Gareth Anscombe (pictured), and this should lead to an improved performance
I think Jockey has acknowledged Wales need to play differently with the players they’ve got.
His philosophy will be about a huge amount of ball movement at the line and creating lots of passes to move the point of contact. Gareth is obviously key to this as No 10.
But the responsibility lies across the board, whatever the number is on your back. Jockey will also want a quick tempo, so expect to see Wales tap and go from penalties and throw in early to line-outs. It should suit scrum-half Tomos Williams down to the ground.
Jockey talks a lot as a coach about what he calls ‘stealing numbers’ in everything his teams do. What that means is outworking your opposition to create an extra man and therefore more space in which to attack. One way Jockey will look to do that is for his forwards to clear rucks effectively to minimise the numbers Ireland will have in the defensive line.
In addition, I’d like to see Wales kick more as an attacking weapon. Against Italy, their kicking game was really poor. Kicking is often seen as a negative tactic, but used the right way it can be a great attacking weapon. Gareth is great at executing those sorts of plays.
Ellis Mee is set for a Wales debut on the wing. I don’t know much about him, but he’s a big fella and I know Josh Adams is very good in the air too.
Ireland have a very good kicking game themselves, but Wales could get some joy in that area. Ireland have great strength in depth, but them losing Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong and Ronan Kelleher is also a little boost for Wales. Ireland, of course, are still firm favourites.
But I think we’ll see signs of improvement from Wales with Jockey at the helm.
