Six Nations 2026: Wales fans feel pain and hope after Scotland defeat

The Principality Stadium crowd of 57,744 against France was criticized as Cardiff’s lowest crowd in the Six Nations era. Rightly so.

Six days later, it was a very different Cardiff cauldron as 70,000 spectators witnessed a scintillating spectacle on and off the pitch.

Some of this is down to the marked improvement in Wales, where the home fans have lacked any success or expectations over the past two years.

After all, Wales have now suffered 11 successive Six Nations defeats in Cardiff, their last success coming against Scotland four years ago in February 2022.

But Wales, led by the inspiring Lake, rocked the Principality Stadium.

“The support has been amazing,” Tandy said.

“There were a lot of questions asked about the crowd, but it was unbelievable.

“Everyone felt it. The players gave them something to cheer about, but in the end they supported the team. It’s a snapshot of where we want to be.”

The challenge for everyone involved in Welsh rugby is to replicate this environment in the final match of the tournament against Italy on 14 March.

The match has the same early evening start as the Scotland encounter.

This past weekend cannot be a one-off if Wales are to inspire that long-awaited and elusive Six Nations success in front of their home fans.