Wales performance against England 'not acceptable'

Wales assistant coach Matt Sherratt says the squad know the performance in the Six Nations opening defeat by England was not acceptable.

Steve Tandy's side face France in Cardiff on Sunday on the back of 12 successive defeats in the tournament and 22 losses in 24 Test since the 2023 World Cup.

Wales yielded seven tries at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham and received four yellow cards among 16 penalties in another ill-disciplined display.

Wales captain Dewi Lake stated after the game the squad had let people down, while wing Josh Adams was close to tears.

When asked whether the performance was acceptable, Sherratt replied: "No."

He added: "We want to make the nation proud [and] it doesn't sting anyone more than the players and staff, it's so disappointing.

"There wasn't a lack of effort, but at the top end of sport, you need more than effort."

Sherratt said the post-match review on Tuesday was "brutally honest" and highlighted the nature of the 48-7 defeat.

"It wasn't brutal, but it was honest. We had two days afterwards, which helped, because sometimes it is a bit of a grieving process," he said.

"By the time we came back on Tuesday there had been a lot of conversations and the players understand as well.

"It's not about the coaches standing at the front telling the players where it went wrong. We've got senior players who were hurting as much as anyone."

Sherratt said players were unable to transfer what had been prepared in training onto the Allianz Stadium pitch.

"We felt we'd worked hard for two weeks but it's about producing what you've done in practice on the day and we weren't able to," said Sherratt.

"That was the most disappointing thing, regardless of the scoreboard."

Despite a wretched run of results, Sherratt insisted Wales will try to remain on course with four games of the Six Nations remaining.

"It's a balance. If you start changing course every two or three weeks, you lose confidence in what you're trying to do," he said.

"We've been clear from the start. We've got a group of players we want to play in a certain way [but] it's been inconsistent. We've seen shoots of it against Argentina and New Zealand and then not in other games.

"So it's about trying to get more of what we're trying to do on the field.

"We're not stubborn, so we will look at what's the best chance for the team to get a result at the weekend. But you can't be scrapping your plans each week."

Wales have conceded 248 points and 34 tries in Tandy's five games in charge so far with no specialist defence coach in place.

Tandy combines the head coach job with the defence position, the specialist role that he had successfully held with Scotland and the British and Irish Lions.

Pundits such as former Wales wing Alex Cuthbert and ex-Scotland captain John Barclay have questioned whether Tandy can do both roles.

But Sherratt said the arrangement will continue.

"He is a very good defence coach, he is the British Lions defence coach and it's not one thing [causing the problems]," he said.

As the attack coach, Sherratt comes up against France defence coach and former Wales favourite Shaun Edwards this weekend.

"I know Shaun well, I worked with him with Wales, Cardiff and the Ospreys and he's a world-class coach," said Sherratt.

"It's more about the players going against their defence rather than me against Shaun because, on and off the pitch, he's pretty formidable."