After back-to-back defeats against England and Ireland, Wales rallied to finish in second in the NatWest 6 Nations table at the end of the Championship.
Warren Gatland said he was “extremely satisfied” following his side’s final game as they held on for a 14-13 victory against France in a bruising encounter in Cardiff.
It was certainly and improvement on last year’s Championship when Wales finished fifth with only two wins against Italy and Ireland.
Gatland will now look to build on the positive vibes going into the World Cup next year. Here we look at what’s next for Wales.
Break for senior stars
Wales will take on South Africa in Washington before two Tests against the Pumas in Argentina this summer, with Gatland confirming that several senior players will be rested.
It has already been confirmed that skipper Alun Wyn Jones will sit out the three games and the Kiwi coach said he wants to give youngsters a chance to shine.
Other experienced members who went on last year’s Lions tour to New Zealand will also be rested, which could mean a break for Ken Owens, Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Taulupe Faletau.
“In the past we have always tried to take as strong a squad as we possibly can,” said Gatland.
“So, this is the first time we will have left a number of players behind or taken some youngsters and less experienced players, apart from when it’s been Lions years.”
Strength in depth
Gatland said one of the most pleasing aspects of the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations was seeing the strength in depth there is in the Wales squad.
“I think in 12 months’ time we’ll be in a really good place in terms of where we are from a starting point of view, from a starting 15 or 23,” he said after the France game.
“We’ve exposed a lot more players and the depth we’ve created has put us in a great position and we’ll look to do that in the summer with the games against South Africa and Argentina.”
With players such as Aaron Shingler, Steff Evans and Hadleigh Parkes all impressing during the Championship, there are plenty of options for Gatland going forward.
The summer tour will give them another chance to a stake a claim, while other youngsters likes Josh Adams, Owen Watkin and Seb Davies could also get an opportunity to shine.
Focus on conditioning and skills
Gatland said he intends to focus on Wales’ conditioning and skills ahead of the 2019 NatWest 6 Nations and the World Cup in Japan.
While he was pleased with the style of play that developed during this year’s Championship, Gatland also admits that more work needs to be done to get the balance right.
“I think from an attacking perspective, if you look at territory and possession sometimes it hasn’t been as good as we would have liked or as good as it has been in the past,” he said.
So we just need to get that balance right going forward and we’ve spoken about the contact area and where we need to tweak that and improve for the game we want to play.”
