"We were ill-disciplined again"- Steve Tandy and Dewi Lake react to brutal Six Nations defeat against England

It was yet another taxing day at the office for Steve Tandy’s side, who left Twickenham on Saturday evening with (at the moment) no injury concerns but with the mental scare of the torrid drumming.

Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local Greene King sports pub.

There’s no sign of Wales ending their 12-game losing run in the Six Nations, following six crosses with winger Harry Arundell claiming a hat-trick, as Wales were left to bemoan.

Josh Adams was Wales’ only scorer on the day, as their last win in south-west London now stretches to 14 years against the old enemy.

Speaking in his post-match press conference with his frustrations clear to see, head coach Tandy said:

Wales, at times, were their worst enemy, with some costly mistakes in attack and defence which invited unnecessary errors. At times, these simple mistakes you expect to see at an amateur level.

Wales’ captain Dewi Lake, with his side in a great attacking position, forgot to tap the ball from a penalty metres from England’s line. Ben Thomas' handling error proved costly as it led to gifting Arundell his third.

The list can go on, particularly with Lake, loose-head Nicky Smith, centre Thomas, and replacement Taine Plumtree all receiving yellow cards, which didn’t help the cause of creating threats.

It almost looked like they were on the back foot throughout, but down to 13 men, they welcomed unwanted pressure, which added hunger to England’s desire to score more.

However, since Tandy took over, in five games, the penalty count has steadily been on the rise (vs England 16), and the number of yellow cards. On discipline, Lake added: “Our discipline in the first 20 minutes was poor.

But despite that, Tandy insisted his side was not under pressure when the tally for infringements rose substantially.

“I didn’t feel we were under a great deal of pressure. I felt we created the pressure,” continued Tandy.

Up next for Wales, they face France at Principality Stadium next Sunday (KO: 15:10). It’s a stadium which hasn’t been the happiest of stomping grounds despite being the home side.

Wales’ sombering defeat against South Africa in their most recent outing in the Welsh capital will not fill Tandy’s side with much confidence.

Even in the Six Nations, they last recorded a win at home against Scotland in 2022, and in a state of being unable to boost ticket sales, there’s no real surprise that the love for the game isn’t there anymore among many Welsh supporters.

On playing Les Bleus next after facing Steve Borthwick’s England side, Lake said: “I echo what Steve says.

In the background, and perhaps the main narrative around Welsh rugby at the moment isn’t actually what is happening on the pitch, it’s the behind-the-scenes stuff causing a stir among fans.

It was announced earlier in the week that the Ospreys will seek to exist following the 2026/27 season, and with four players from the regional side selected in the matchday 23, Lake was questioned on whether that had any impact.

“It’s not good enough to use that as an excuse,” said Lake.