Wales Six Nations Team

On their day the Welsh are one of the most dangerous and exciting teams in the Six Nations Championship. Despite drawing on a small player pool, partially as a result of the loss of the mining and manufacturing industries that once produced their best players, the Welsh have adapted successfully to the professional era, and appear to be well on their way to recapturing their former glory.

Stats:

Six Nations titles (outright): 24
Six Nations titles (shared): 11
Grand Slams: 10
First won the Six Nations: 1893
Last Six Nations title: 2008
Home ground: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Team colours: Red
Anthem: Land of Our Fathers

Strengths:

During the heyday of Welsh rugby, the national team boasted powerful forwards culled from the coalfaces of the valleys, and backed by mercurial backs capable of running defences to shreds. While the Welsh forwards are still formidable, it is in the back-line that Wales has retained its prowess.

Wales regularly fields a selection of world-class players in their back-line, and tends to field a selection of high quality flyhalves and scrumhalves. The Welsh excel at interlinking play during attacking moves, and are past masters at scoring against the run of play.

Weaknesses:

Wales’ biggest weakness over the past two decades has been its inability to perform consistently. Whilst the Welsh never lost the ability to upset France or England, they have been equally capable of losing to Italy or the likes of Samoa. This weakness is often pinned on lack of commitment in defence, as well as indisciplined and mediocre performances by the Welsh pack.

Six Nations History:

Wales competed in the inaugural Home Nations Championship played in 1883. However, it took almost a decade for the Welsh to find their stride in the tournament, which they first won in 1893. At the turn of the century Wales went onto its first winning streak, securing Home Nations championships between 1900 and 1910.

The Welsh continued to claim the championship periodically, before entering their golden age in the 1960s and 1970s, when they fielded some of the best players in the history of the sport and won 10 titles over two decades. Welsh rugby went into dormancy during the 1980s and 1990s, when the team managed to pick up only two championship titles.

However, since the turn of the millennium, Welsh rugby has emerged from the ashes. A new crop of world class youngsters have helped this proud rugby nation claim another two Grand Slam Six Nations titles, leaving Wales 2 championship wins shy of being the most successful team in the history of the tournament.