England and Scotland will both begin their Nations Championship in the southern hemisphere against South Africa and Argentina, respectively, whilst Wales travel to the Cardiff City Stadium for an ‘away’ fixture.
Steve Tandy’s face Fiji in their opening Nations Championship game, following an under-par runout against the Barbarians in Twickenham.
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Albeit what lies ahead for Wales following proceedings in the Welsh capital on Saturday offers very little sympathy. Tandy’s side has a golden opportunity to strike the best of starts.
Before Wales even begins their mammoth journey of 12,000 miles, five different time zones between San Juan and Durban, they have to put aside a tricky Fijian outfit.
The pair had a remarkable encounter during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and in their next meeting, Fiji claimed a first-ever win over Wales in Cardiff with a 24-19 triumph during the 2024 autumn internationals campaign.
What follows this meeting in an ‘away’ fixture in Cardiff will be incredibly demanding on Tandy’s squad. But this weekend, it’s Wales’ biggest game of the summer. One that many supporters believe they can be triumphant in.
Wales will travel believing they can compete, but realism suggests claiming victories in either country represents a considerable challenge.
No one is expecting Wales to go to the southern hemisphere and cause seismic upsets; this comes after shipping 125 points in total against both.
This is why there is considerable pressure to get a positive result against Fiji. Momentum has been a recurring theme since Wales faced Scotland during the Six Nations.
Tandy has continuously talked about building, with the 2027 World Cup on the horizon, that’s where the 46-year-old head coach will be judged.
Wales need to show those performances against the Scots in Cardiff and Ireland in Dublin, and that a win against Italy wasn’t a fluke but a stepping stone to bigger things.
“We have got to be better,” said Tandy following his side recording a second consecutive victory.
“We’ve got to keep looking at ourselves because I still don’t think we are ready yet to be focusing on the bigger outcome.
“We have to be more consistent right across the board, which this group are fighting tirelessly to do.”
An opening victory against Fiji would allow breathing room for his side. Ideally, the perfect outcome this summer for Wales is just the one victory, and what else comes will just be a bonus.
The alternative for Tandy’s side is far less appealing. Lose against Fiji, and they’ll head to Argentina and South Africa with the pressure multiplying greatly.
Then, returning home at the end of the opening rounds of the Nations Championship is a daunting proposition and concerning ahead of the autumn.
On what success looks like this summer for Tandy’s side, he added: “We want to build and be more consistent.
“If we are seeing more consistency in our performance, I’m going to be very happy, because that’ll be closer to winning games.
Wales have had the perfect warm-up for an encounter against Fiji, facing an unorthodox Barbarians side. They have had all the favours at the start of this summer to get off to the best possible start.
England are in Johannesburg. France are in Christchurch. Ireland are in Sydney. Scotland are in Córdoba. Italy are in Tokyo.
Wales? They travel just 11 miles from their training base to face Fiji.
If Wales are to emerge from the next few weeks with tangible progress and renewed optimism, it almost certainly starts with winning the one match they can least afford to lose.
Failing to do so may be catastrophic for Tandy and Wales. The pressure is well and truly on for his side to deliver on Saturday.
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