Will Warren Gatland's team be able to avoid a second consecutive Wooden Spoon? Here's our Wales Six Nations preview
Wales had a torrid time in 2024, losing every single Test match they played.
They will be hoping to avoid the Six Nations Wooden Spoon in 2025. Here’s all you need to know about the team.
Six Nations history
The glory days seem a distant memory after last year’s Wooden Spoon, the first for Wales in 21 years. As the graph below shows, Wales have have a shocker in the past five years, except for 2021 when they cashed in on opposition red cards and helpful refereeing to land a surprise title.
But that is Wales all over – they go from rags to riches and back again. The common denominator is Warren Gatland, the first coach to win three Six Nations Grand Slams (2008, 2012, 2019). Wales’ first, in 2005, came under Mike Ruddock.
Form guide
Wales took a pounding last autumn, conceding an average of 40 points in defeats by Fiji, Australia and South Africa. The Springboks made their game look like a training run. A run of 12 defeats all told is Wales’ worst spell in their 144-year history but at least the pressure is off now – even the most ardent Welsh fans have lowered their expectations.
Injuries hinder them, particularly up front, where regular hookers Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias failed to make Wales’ initial squad because of injury. Lake (biceps) is out for the duration, leaving Jac Morgan to lead the side. Gatland is rolling the dice, only partly out of necessity.
Read more: Every Wales team to play in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations
Cam Winnett, Rio Dyer, Gareth Anscombe, Max Llewellyn and Taine Plumtree have been snubbed as the coach looks for the formula needed to stop the rot. Sam Costelow’s broken collarbone paved the way for Dan Edwards’s call-up and the Ospreys fly-half is joined by Scarlets wing Ellis Mee, who a year ago was at Nottingham and was on nobody’s radar.
Crumbs of comfort? No 8 Taulupe Faletau, who missed all of those 12 defeats, is finally fit again, along with Josh Adams, Elliot Dee, Dafydd Jenkins, Joe Roberts and Liam Williams.
Key player
Whenever a pile of bodies disentangles at a breakdown, Jac Morgan invariably emerges with his mitts on the pill. Wales are in safe hands under the Ospreys back-row, who continues to impress while many around him flounder.
Against the Boks, Morgan made 28 tackles, missing only two. The same match saw him make the most carries (11) for his team, gaining 39 metres against the world’s most physical defence. He’s gold dust for Wales.
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Jac Morgan of Wales during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match between Wales and Australia (Getty Images)
One to watch
If strong current form earns selection, Teddy Williams merits an opportunity. The 24-year-old lock leads the URC stats for tackles made and lineouts won and is a major factor behind Cardiff’s third spot in the table early this year.
Work-rate and multiple contributions underpin his game and he has gone up a few notches since the second of his two Test caps last year against Scotland. Gatland has other ‘hybrids’ to pick from but if he wants a second-row with back-row qualities, Williams is the man.
Coach – Warren Gatland
A year ago we questioned whether his magical powers were waning. Since when, Wales have fallen into the abyss. But you’ve got to hand it to him – despite all the doom and gloom, Gatland believes Wales can win the championship.
The Kiwi’s incredible record – four Six Nations titles, three of them with Grand Slams – is coming under strain. One win in ten championship games since his second coming in December 2022 has seen Wales slump to 11th in the world rankings. He’s been asked to soften his approach to players following anonymous feedback in a recent independent review.
This will be his 18th Six Nations campaign, the first four coming with Ireland, and the opening match at Stade de France will be his 150th in charge of Wales. “It’s been tough. You do question yourself,” he says. “But you have to trust your instincts and experience.”
Prediction
Wales are better than recent results suggest, especially with some old guns returning. But it’s still hard to see their tournament being anything other than a battle to avoid the Wooden Spoon.
Wales’ odds to win the tournament are 50-1.
How to watch Wales in the 2025 Six Nations
To watch Wales in their opening Six Nations game away to France, see our full how to watch guide here.
Wales’ Six Nations record:
2020: Fifth
2021: First
2022: Fifth
2023: Fifth
2024: Sixth
Wales’ Six Nations fixtures
Related: How to watch Six Nations
Friday 31 January 2025
- France v Wales
Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 8.15pm GMT / 10.15pm SAST / 7.15am AEDT (Saturday) / 9.15am NZDT (Saturday) / 3.15pm ET / 12.15pm PT
Saturday 8 February 2025
- Italy v Wales
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 2.15pm GMT / 4.15pm SAST / 1.15am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.15am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.15am ET / 6.15am PT
Saturday 22 February 2025
- Wales v Ireland
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 2.15pm GMT / 4.15pm SAST / 1.15am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.15am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.15am ET / 6.15am PT
Related: Check out all the upcoming rugby fixtures here
Saturday 8 March 2025
- Scotland v Wales
Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 4.45pm GMT / 6.45pm SAST / 3.45am AEDT (Sunday) / 5.45am NZDT (Sunday) / 11.45am ET / 8.45am PT
Saturday 15 March 2025
- Wales v England
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 4.45pm GMT / 6.45pm SAST / 3.45am AEDT (Sunday) / 5.45am NZDT (Sunday) / 12.45pm ET / 9.45am PT
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