Wales losing their way

THE Welsh forwards’ drill sergeant Robin McBryde is not prepared to “mindlessly flog” his men as punishment for Saturday’s miserable performance against Scotland.

The red dragon supporters, many of whom spent over 12 hours battling the snow to reach Murrayfield, only to witness an abject performance, may well disagree.

Wales have now lost 10 of their 17 Tests since winning the Grand Slam and beaten only Canada and the Pacific Islands in the last 12 months. But the fans can at least rest assured the squad will not escape lightly.

McBride is a firm believer in players needing a “good reason” to be worked hard.

One glance at the RBS Six Nations table and the daunting fixtures to come will be reason enough.

For a side who quietly harboured title ambitions before the championship began, the table makes grim reading: played two; lost two; not a try scored. Instead, Wales face the prospect of a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

They have a fortnight to get things right before locking horns with a powerful French pack in Paris and then, a week later, an Italian side who won the forward battle with England.

McBryde admitted: “We must improve but I am not going to shout and holler. It is not a case of just hitting the scrum machine 100 times. You are not going to get better like that.

“As a player I needed to have a good reason for doing things. It is about working smart. My job is to get them functioning as a pack and as units. We broke down in that area against Scotland.”

Wales remained in touch against Scotland for an hour with three penalties from Stephen Jones, but could never escape the vice-like grip Frank Hadden’s men placed on the game right from kick-off.

Chris Paterson kicked a championship record-equalling seven penalties to seal the win.