With no scrum coach announced yet and some of the Welsh teams struggling in that area, it doesn’t bode well for the autumn
18:30, 07 Oct 2025Updated 20:50, 07 Oct 2025
Adam Jones was involved with Wales during the Six Nations. (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
At the end of a wet and windy night in Newport last Friday, Dragons fans were agonising how a first league victory in over a year had narrowly eluded them.
The 17-17 draw against the Sharks was enough to end a run of 18 defeats in the United Rugby Championship, but the missed opportunity at the death – with fly-half Tinus de Beer continually ignored in the pocket while waiting for a drop-goal – made it feel like two points lost, rather than two gained.
In reality though, there was an element that Filo Tiatia’s side had defied the odds simply to get themselves into a position where a win was possible.
By the end of the match, the number of scrum penalties against the Dragons was nine. Few teams get so close to double figures and still nearly come out on top.
They weren’t the only Welsh side to struggle in that area of the game on the same day.
Miles away in South Africa, the Ospreys had no answer to the Stormers’ scrum in Cape Town. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Mark Jones’ side were pinged six times at the DHL Stadium, killing any chance of a third successive win over the Stormers.
The week before, the Bulls had managed to milk three penalties out of the Ospreys’ scrum in Pretoria.
The days of the Ospreys being a side that can field two Test-level front-rows are seemingly over. That’s unsurprising, given how Welsh rugby continues to starve itself.
There were plenty of positives for the Ospreys, with their attack looking sharp in South Africa. But the scrum is an issue moving forward.
The same goes for the Dragons.
Even with all their summer business, they’ve still been pinged 10 times in the first two games.
It all speaks to a wider issue in Welsh rugby that has been brewing for an awfully long time.
As a nation, Wales just doesn’t seem to breed too many strong scrummagers. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
There was a time when Adam Jones was the cornerstone of the Welsh scrum, cementing his place as one of the world’s finest tightheads.
After Jones left the stage, Tomas Francis proved a very solid option for a number of years.
Now though, Wales finds itself a little lost.
The man who ended the summer starting for Wales, Archie Griffin, struggles to get regular starts for his club, Bath.
Even with England prop Will Stuart yet to return following Lions duty, and South Africa prop Thomas du Toit having been tied up with Rugby Championship action, Griffin has had to make do with a bench spot in the defending champion’s first two Gallagher Prem games.
Instead, England U20s prop Billy Sela has been starting for Bath. Hardly ideal for Griffin and Wales.
In terms of Wales’ other tightheads in Japan, Keiron Assiratti endured a tough time in Kitakyushu.
As for Chris Coleman, Wales’ summer debutant paid the price for the Dragons’ scrummaging issues on Friday night, being sin-binned as a replacement.
There’s also the likes of WillGriff John and Henry Thomas in the mix, but there’s no standout tighthead in the mould of a Jones or Francis.
Over on the loosehead, there are two Test-level options in Nicky Smith and Gareth Thomas. Beyond those, there’s little in the way of Test-proven props. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
Garyn Phillips was third-choice in the summer, but was given a tough time by the Bulls in Pretoria, while Kemsley Mathias was involved in the Six Nations.
As much as the personnel matters, there’s also the small issue of coaching.
Steve Tandy has brought in Danny Wilson and Matt Sherratt ahead of the autumn, looking after the lineout and attack respectively.
There has been suggestions that Tandy will work through his first campaign with a fairly slimline coaching team before adding to it later on.
It seems unlikely at the minute that Adam Jones, having been involved in Wales’ previous two campaigns this year, will play a part in helping to improve Wales’ scrum again.
Jones made a massive difference, particularly in the clash against Ireland in Cardiff this year when they had some joy out of Lions prop Andrew Porter.
However, it might take a bit of negotiating to get Jones out of Harlequins so soon after taking head coach Wilson from the Prem club on the eve of the new season.
That’s not to say it’s not possible, given the WRU were previously keen on keeping continuity from the summer’s coaching team.
Tandy will want his Wales team to be difficult to beat this autumn. So much of that starts with a strong scrum.
That is going to take some doing to get that sorted.