Welsh rugby looks for new year lift after grim 2024

Warren Gatland’s Wales men’s team played 11 Tests and lost 11 Tests in 2024.

Their overall international losing sequence now stands at 12, stretching back to October 2023 when Wales lost in the World Cup quarter-final to Argentina in Marseille.

It is the first time since 1937 the national side have gone an entire calendar year without winning a Test and they occupy their lowest ever world ranking position of 11th, just above Georgia.

After the loss of Louis Rees-Zammit to American football, experienced campaigners like Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Tomas Francis through retirement and unavailability, along with injuries to Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and Taulupe Faletau, an inexperienced side, led by Wales’ second-ever youngest captain Dafydd Jenkins, suffered five Six Nations losses.

This resulted in a first Wooden Spoon in 21 years as Wales finished bottom for the first time since 2003.

After George North also announced his international farewell and Ken Owens revealed his retirement, a summer loss against South Africa at Twickenham preceded a 2-0 series defeat in Australia before a solitary success in an uncapped match against Queensland Reds.

A dire autumn brought defeats to Fiji, Australia and South Africa which extended Wales’ losing run to that round dozen and put them in the record books.

Despite the dismal record, head coach Gatland remains in charge for the 2025 Six Nations. It begins with a trip to face France in Paris on Friday, 31 January without injured captain Lake, one of the few success stories of a traumatic year.

Gatland is contracted until the 2027 World Cup but with a success rate of only 25% for his second spell in charge, he has been given the Six Nations to instigate a revival.