Gwyn Jones looking for good Welsh performance, not necessarily wins
Former Welsh captain Gwyn Jones has suggested that the performances for Wales are far more important than the results as they build for the 2011 World Cup.
Wales will play four Autumn International Tests starting with their opening match against Australia on Saturday, 6 November.
They will then play South Africa, Fiji and Australia on consecutive weekends at the Millennium Stadium.
"I wouldn't judge the autumn series on results alone. Wales' objective should be to redefine their strategy in a new age of rugby. Phase one should be about getting more competitive, phase two will be
the Six Nations [as Wales build towards the 2011 World Cup]," he told the Scrum V television program.
Jones feels that Wales need to progress, but he did acknowledge that the side had to beat Fiji.
The former captain stated that because the Tri-nations had played with the new International Rugby Board directives they would have an advantage in the series.
The directives have been introduced to make the game more attacking and free flowing and New Zealand, South Africa and Australia have all played under the rules for the past year, while the northern hemisphere
are only due to adopt them for the first time during the Autumn Internationals.
As a result, Jones feels that the performances against the big southern hemisphere sides are as important as winning.
“We need to see improvement as November goes on, and we must beat Fiji," he added.
Former player and BBC pundit Jonathan Davies believes that Wales do have the ability to compete with the southern hemisphere sides when they are free of injury and at full strength.
However, he admitted that injuries to players like Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny and captain Ryan Jones would mean that the Autumn Internationals would be a challenge for Wales.
"I still feel that we haven't got the strength in depth that we need for such a tough month of Test rugby. When we have our best team out we're capable of beating anyone. When we haven't it's a struggle,"
said Davies.
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