Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara says the form of Wales' English-based players could bode well for Steve Tandy this month. The La Rochelle coach, speaking as an ITV pundit, offered his assessment of Wales ahead of the Nations Championship.
Wales' Changing Player Base
Fourteen of Tandy's 39-man squad are playing their rugby in the Gallagher Premiership. This follows a summer in which Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Aaron Wainwright all moved to England, amid ongoing political turmoil in Welsh domestic rugby, including the WRU's attempts to cut a professional team and enter the Gallagher Prem.
O'Gara believes the different club scene could help Wales, contrasting it with the past when Welsh players often struggled for their clubs before finding form internationally.
'Winning Is a Habit'
"Winning games at club level is so important," O'Gara told the Daily Mail. "Wales haven't had that historically and their guys have been deprived of all confidence at Test level. No matter how mentally strong you are, you can't just flick a switch and get that. Winning is a habit."
He pointed to a recent Champions Cup match as evidence: "I watched the Gloucester-Bordeaux game in the Champions Cup. The best players on the pitch weren't French. That bodes well for England as well as Wales."
Progress Over Victories
O'Gara also outlined the match Wales need to win this month, saying victories are no longer the measure of success. "Wins for Wales aren't measured by victories now," he said. "They're measured by progress and I think their coaching ticket has delivered that. There should be a bounce in their camp. Their non-negotiable has to be beating Japan."
