Rugby in Wales: Apathy reigns as Argentina’s record loss exacerbates crisis

After all, Wales have won just one Test match since 2023, while Argentina can count New Zealand among their wins this year.

It was Steve Tandy’s first match as Wales coach, a fresh start of sorts, but attendance was 50,185 – the lowest for a non-Covid-era match since 2016.

It’s all relative – many sporting entities would like that kind of support – but it still represents a significant reduction from the near-75,000 crowd capacity on which the Welsh Rugby Union has come to rely for a large part of its income.

While a sell-out was once a given, there is now an acceptance of Wales’ new reality.

Even more surprising than the empty seats was the way this acceptance manifested itself in such a flat and negative atmosphere.

Yes, the volume increased as Wales briefly fought back with two tries to level the score during the first half – but that optimism was short-lived.

You can’t really blame the fans. This was Wales’ tenth consecutive defeat at home, with the last two visitors collecting 120 points between them.

However, as those fans flocked to Westgate Street after the final whistle, much of the chatter was strangely upbeat.

Some admired the sharper attack, while others encouraged the short periods in which Tandy’s young players competed with superior opponents.

But the situation is bleak when conceding 52 points at home – after scoring a record 68 against England in their last match at this stadium – is seen as par for the course for Wales.

Even for a country that has swung so dramatically from highs to lows during its turbulent rugby history, this is rock bottom for the game in Wales.

You wouldn’t have known that this team were Six Nations champions four years ago; Grand Slam winners and World Cup semi-finalists two years earlier.

They are now ranked 12th in the world rankings. Losing has become so routine that people have become desensitized to the humiliation.

Which is why every effort by Argentina elicited only a puff of cheeks from those watching the match in the stands.