Where is Welsh Rugby at right now? England v Wales [Debrief]

We as Welsh rugby fans are spoilt, there is often more success than not especially in my lifetime under Warren Gatland it's been a rollercoaster but it's been one hell of a ride.

So why after yesterday's defeat are Welsh fans not disappointed by the result but by the performance which has been the same since the World Cup defeat to South Africa last Autumn. 

Gatland has a plan everyone knows it and it's up to teams to plan for it well unfortunately like a soap opera it's scripted and that means it's easy to read. It's  lethargic in execution because it seems even the team are tired of their attacking flair being stifled by their defensive discipline.

Why did it takes a side containing the likes of Liam Williams, George North and Jonathan Davies take 70 minutes to finally throw the ball around with purpose. You could argue that the front 8 were comprehensively outplayed. The front row in particular were so poor that there was talk they would all be hooked after 25 minutes.

Jonathan Joseph breaking George North's tackle at Twickenham

Let's be realistic Samson Lee isn't the prodigy that he was made out to be and Joe Marler despite "Gypsygate" still being investigated had Lee's number all afternoon the scrum was 50/50 but in the loose England had a field day.

Rob Evans and Scott Baldwin were particularly poor with the latter constantly missing his man in the line-out a problem he's been making for a very long time despite recent improvement. Ken Owens came on and made a massive impact and should start against Italy it's as simple as that. 

The second row were easily outplayed in probably the biggest battle of the day, George Kruis was good let's be honest but Maro Itoje was pheunomenal and in his second start made it look easy outshining the usually reliable Alun Wyn Jones. 

And the famed back row which was tasked with bringing down Billy Vunipola was invisible in nullifying other threats and especially at the breakdown the ball was crisp for England to attack from. 

Once again even before Sam Warburton was carried off(Best wishes to Sam of course) he wasn't to be seen turning ball over or winning penalties and he hasn't been at his very best this tournament considering the high standards he set on the 2013 Lions tour to Australia. 

The back-row was brought together again to give balance and to win the battle of the breakdown and if you watch the game back there wasn't even a battle there, Wales were too passive in defence and were just happy to conceded possession and territory with ease. 

I believe that the Lydiate, Warburton and Faletau mix doesn't work like it used because the game has changed so much since that's why Australia have Hooper and Pocock because they work together, Wales have a player in Justin Tipuric who is rare and he needs and deserves to play. Only need to watch the last 10 minutes to see how good he is. 

He passes like a back but hits rucks and makes tackles like a forward. In the World Cup he came off the bench and helped Wales beat England, fast forward a few months he almost did the same again, what does the man have to do to start.

Justin Tipuric tackling Andrew Trimble on Matchday 1

New Zealand had Jerome Kaino, Richie Mccaw and Kieran Reed in their back row in the World Cup final and those three players do similar jobs to their Welsh counterparts but Kaino and Reed both have bigger skill sets than just hitting rucks and making tackles. Their both very productive in the loose with smooth hands as well as having the gas to make the hard yards.

This is why I believe keep Warburton at 7 and Faletau at 8 and put Tipuric at 6 because that gives Warburton the licence to disrupt at the breakdown if he can get near his best with Tipuric ready to steal as well. It works for NZ why can't it work for Wales. Lydiate hasn't been the same player since he went to Paris to further his career. JT is not only faster around the park, he puts in the same amount of tackles and is unbelievable in the loose.

Anyway I digress, Wales are becoming predictable and have been for years but have been very blessed with players like Leigh Halfpenny and now Dan Biggar kicking the penalties and the occasional flash of brilliance from players like Gareth Davies, George North and so on.

Rugby is becoming a sport all about physicality and it seems to be size really does matter but it really doesn't. For every Waisake Naholo there's a Nehe Milner-Shudder. So which players lit up the World Cup it's the latter who stands at 5ft 11 and just over 14st which nowadays is regarded as small for a back. 

Yesterday made me realise how reliant Wales are on size punching holes and not about skill and cutting angles like they used to be, Think how Wales used to play with Shane Williams and Lee Byrne who made it look easy and of course weren't the biggest. Welsh flair is in it's history so why is all of it being coached out of them.

It's similar to football, many players are being taught how to be defensively disciplined and are made afraid to try anything in case they lose possession and fans lose patience, it's a vicious cycle. 

Gatland and defence guru Shaun Edwards as well as Attacking coach Rob Howley have been playing the same tune for so long and it's a song which other teams aren't dancing too. 2013 was the last time Wales won the Six Nations and after this year will now have been four years ago that's a long time for such a talented squad. 

19 tackles were missed by the Welsh players on the weekend which is unacceptable at any level but particularly at the highest. Against a better side with respect to England, it would have been a cricket score by halftime and there wouldn't have been any chance of a late rally either. 

It's not all doom and gloom because to only lose one game in the Six Nations in 2016 is a great achievement particularly with two strong teams such as Ireland and England constantly on the up as well as the ever improving Scotland and the unreliable France it's a slug every week.

It's that same hurdle that Wales keep falling at over the last few years, Australia at the World Cup we all remember the 13 men which should haunt the team for years to come but it was followed up by the exact same problem which eliminated them against South Africa. 

Since then results have followed, a draw away to Ireland is a superb result but an injury ravaged Ireland should have been put away and Wales hardly created anything at the Aviva. The same thing happened against Scotland and then France, yes we won those games but Scotland threw the game away and France well what can you say about the French these days. A win's a win of course but there's only so much you can get away with poor performances before teams become more clinical.

Against England the first half may have been the worst half under Warren Gatland since he took over and in one of the biggest ever games as well. The 20 after the break weren't great as Wales continued to leak penalties after penalties and there were holes being punched in that defence at ease. 

We've been saying it as fans for years but Gatland needs to first of all get parity in the forwards which means getting a lineup which will hold it's own in the scrum, reliable in the line-out and be expansive in the loose as Maro Itoje exemplified at HQ. 

In contrast the backs need to brush up on their handling skills and learn to spot the gaps rather than busting through/over players. The AB's aren't the biggest bunch of backs but all of them have a soft set of hands who make it look easy. 

Flair players like Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies and George North need to be encouraged to play what's in front of them and not worry about make mistakes. 

Wales are currently in a golden era but risk watching it pass by because they won't adapt to how the game is constantly evolving.