DEMISE OF THE DRAGON: No-one needs to see Welsh rugby on its knees … however here is why Gregor Townsend’s Scots should be ruthless in Cardiff this weekend

Wales have suffered two bruising defeats so far in this year’s Six Nations, shipping over 100 points across their two matches against England and France.

Those hammerings have continued a disastrous run of form over the past couple of years. The Welsh have now lost 13 successive matches in the Six Nations.

You have to go back to 2023 to find the last time they actually won a match in the championship. Indeed, they have now lost 23 of their last 25 Test matches across all competitions.

Welsh rugby is beset by all kinds of financial woes and there is a very real possibility they will have to downsize their clubs from four to three, maybe even two.

None of that will be Scotland’s concern on Saturday when they look to build on last week’s rousing win over England by claiming another victory in Cardiff.

Here, former Scotland captains ANDY NICOL and JASON WHITE look at some of the issues facing Wales — and explain to Daily Mail Sport why it could be a long road ahead for a proud rugby nation…

Welsh rugby looks to be in total crisis at the moment. On and off the field, they are engulfed by so many problems. What do you make of what’s been going on?

Andy Nicol: To be honest, I find it all really sad. I have some good friends in Wales, people still involved in the game, and it really is dire straits. As a spectacle, the Six Nations is far better with a strong and competitive Wales team. But they are nowhere near it at the moment.

I know people who have worked in senior positions in Welsh rugby. This is a car crash they have all seen coming down the line for years — but no one has been able to stop it.

If you take it all the way back to when Wales won a Grand Slam in 2005, they were blessed with such an incredible group of players for the next 15 to20 years. It was a golden generation — and a long one at that — with the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Shane Williams, Sam Warburton, Dan Biggar, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Justin Tipuric, to name but a few.

At one point, Wales could almost field an entire team for the British and Irish Lions by themselves — and had Warren Gatland as head coach. They won Grand Slams, Six Nations titles, and very nearly reached a World Cup final in 2011. But the well has now run dry. A proud rugby nation is basically on its knees.

Jason White: It almost looks like the collapse of an empire. Rugby is such a massive part of the national fabric in Wales, but they have never been at a lower ebb than right now.

When you listen to former players and captains like Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones, the one thing that comes across is the lack of respect that has been shown to players and staff across the various four clubs. People are going to lose their jobs. It’s a reality of modern life unfortunately. We had it in Scotland years ago with the four teams and districts being reduced to two.

If you look at it over the past 20 years, there’s an argument that Wales actually over-achieved. One generation of players actually bled into another — and they were both led by one of the all-time great coaches in Gatland. That was a potent combination.

Now comes the reality check. The Principality Stadium in Cardiff is an iconic venue, but it looks a shadow of its old self at the moment with so many empty seats and no atmosphere. It’s all just really, really grim for Wales right now.

What have you made of their results and performances so far? Is this the worst Wales team of all time?

AN: The thing that has really stood out for me is the manner in which they are just being totally overpowered by opposition teams. Rugby is a power game now and Wales were one of the teams who really set that trend in motion 20 years ago. They had some huge men up front, in the back row, and also in the midfield and the backline. But they don’t have the same size of personnel available to them now.

Teams are blowing them away physically. In the game against England, and against South Africa last autumn, it was like watching men against boys. That’s why I’m not surprised to see Duhan van der Merwe back in the Scotland team. If they can get quick ball and get him into space, he could destroy Wales with his pace and power, much like we saw the French backline do.

The really worrying thing is that I’m not actually sure Wales have hit rock bottom yet. This could get worse before it gets better.

JW: This is the worst Wales team I can remember in my lifetime. It might even be the worst Wales team of all-time. Certainly, in the professional era, I don’t ever recall them being as bad as they are now.

Against England and France, basic elements of their game were found wanting. Defensive structure, organisation, physicality — these are all things which are fundamentals. That doesn’t come down to talent or ability.

Steve Tandy will be pretty angry at what he has seen so far and that’s probably been reflected in the fact he has made a few changes. They are wounded. You see all the stuff on social media and people poking fun at them about conceding over 100 points. As a nation, Wales deserve better than this. They shouldn’t be a laughing stock.

Do you see a solution in the short to medium term? Is the future of Welsh rugby as doomed as some people are suggesting?

AN: The late, great Eddie Butler used to tell me there are five teams in Wales; the Dragons, the Ospreys, the Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, and the national team. What he meant by that was a lot of people only supported the national team.

The consistent and sustained success they had from 2005 onwards masked a lot of the problems underneath. There’s no quick fix. Fundamentally, Wales can’t afford to have four professional clubs. We experienced this in Scotland back in the day.

By and large, over the past few years, Welsh club teams haven’t been competitive. In Scotland, we went from four to two. We went back up to three for a short period with Border Reivers, but it just wasn’t viable. It’s painful, but it was a necessary pain. That’s where Wales are at just now.

Professional rugby needs population and commerce in order to thrive. In Scotland, we realised we could only afford to have two teams, based in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Wales are ripping themselves apart over this very same debate. It could take a long time to really sort this out.

The past couple of years will have been painful for everyone involved, but there’s no sign of that pain ending any time soon.

JW: You need your four teams to be successful and pulling in good crowds on a consistent basis. That hasn’t been happening. So, not only are the four teams uncompetitive, they are financially struggling as well. That’s a recipe for disaster.

They will have to cut back to two teams eventually. There’s no easy solution. Wales could be in the wilderness for the next 10 years until they really turn this around and make the necessary changes. They need to cut their cloth accordingly. They need to make a decision, and then everyone needs to really get behind it and move forward. Otherwise, the bickering and infighting will eventually mean the sport will eat itself alive.

I totally understand why people are so upset by it all. There’s history, pride, and sentiment involved. But moving forward with four clubs just doesn’t look to be viable, unfortunately.

Scotland traditionally have a post-England hangover when they win the Calcutta Cup. In the Six Nations era, they have only won their next match on one occasion after beating England. Why is that? And how do they replicate the energy we saw last week?

AN: Look at the facts and the stats. The numbers don’t lie. Clearly, Scotland get themselves fired up to play England more than any other nation. That’s consistent with my own mindset back when I was playing. It’s the biggest game of the season.

Scotland need to find their own emotional driver for this game. In Cardiff a couple of years ago, against another Wales team who were fairly limited, Scotland went 27-0 up — and then very nearly imploded. They hung on, but it was a hell of a scare. That can’t happen again.

More than anything, this team need to show they can be trusted. We can’t get carried away at all. We can’t start looking at the France game in round four and how important it could be. Scotland have absolutely no track record of being able to do that. They need to focus on the task at hand.

There will be people out there who expect Scotland to fall flat on their face. It’s up to Gregor Townsend and the players to make sure that doesn’t happen.

JW: Scotland have enjoyed so many brilliant victories over England in the Six Nations, but we have a ruinous habit of failing to back it up the following week. Look at the record, it’s there in black and white. The boom and bust nature of this team has been so frustrating.

No-one is saying Scotland need to be 10 out 10 every week. That’s unrealistic. No team produces their best stuff every single week in any sport. But Scotland need to find more of a baseline, a consistency in all the other matches when it’s not England they are playing.

Wales will be better this week than they’ve been against England and France. They will target this as the game they can win in this year’s championship. But, fundamentally, Scotland are a much better team. They need to be professional and take care of business. If they can do that, then the visit of France to Murrayfield in round four takes on monumental importance.

I like the decision to recall Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn. They’re both such powerful runners and will have a point to prove after being dropped. With Finn Russell pulling the strings again, Van der Merwe and Kinghorn should get plenty of chances to attack with ball in hand.