Wales are preparing to face Italy in their Six Nations finale, with the question of performance versus result looming large. The match is scheduled for Saturday, 14 March at 16:40 GMT.
Italy’s head coach Gonzalo Quesada believes Wales “must win”. In contrast, Wales coach Steve Tandy and captain Dewi Lake both prioritised performance when asked directly.
Lock Dafydd Jenkins, however, stated that winning was more important at international level.
Coaches Weigh In on Priorities
Tandy acknowledged the importance of both elements, suggesting that the result would follow a strong performance. He stated, “Even if we got the result on Saturday it doesn’t change what I believe in, we’ve got to get better in terms of performances.”
Sceptics argue that Wales could improve on encouraging displays during losses against Scotland and Ireland, but still lose to Italy.
Conversely, even if Wales’ performance levels were to drop slightly, they could still triumph if Italy suffer an off-day.
Fan Satisfaction: Performance or Victory?
With Welsh rugby facing challenges, the question is what will satisfy the home fans at the Principality Stadium. Will they prefer an improved display in defeat or a positive result after a more underwhelming performance?
Tandy believes that a top-class showing should provide the outcome the squad and the fans desire. Lake was asked whether he would take a 6-3 victory. “Yes, absolutely but if we were poor offensively, if we were not performing the way we wanted to, even with a 6-3 result, we’d be disappointed in ourselves with how we played and represented ourselves on the field,” he said.
Echoes of the Past
For Welsh rugby fans, this week might feel like a step back in time. It brings to mind 2003, when Steve Hansen was in charge of a Welsh team that was continually losing.
Hansen’s side suffered a then record run of 10 straight defeats in 2002 and 2003, which pales in comparison to the 18-Test losing sequence Wales endured between 2023 and 2025.
During his losing streak, Hansen would regularly highlight the merits of the performance outweighing the results, which failed to convince his media doubters. Eventually the New Zealander exploded with an expletive-laden outburst towards a BBC journalist before a World Cup warm-up match against Scotland in August 2003, following a question whether the result was more important than performance for that particular weekend.
Ironically, Wales then triumphed to break the losing streak in a game Hansen needed to win to keep his.
Wales have won 28 of their 34 past meetings with Italy, losing five and drawing one.