Welsh rugby is in the worst state it has been in a generation, and the people inside the dressing room are no longer pretending otherwise.
After a record-low Six Nations attendance, the loss of a regional club, government scrutiny of the union and a senior team admitting they fell behind the modern game, the assessment from the Welsh camp is unflinching.
"Mr. Speaker, Welsh rugby is in crisis," ran the opening of one ITV Sport package on the state of the union. "The last month has brought a record low Six Nations attendance, government inquisitions, the sense things will only worsen before they get better."
The structural picture, on its own, is bleak. "It's been coming," one analyst said. "People have stopped caring. The loss of a regional club sanctioned, its members divided. In terms of professional rugby, we don't have a plan B."
Inside the squad itself, senior players have stopped reaching for excuses. Asked whether the off-field chaos was the reason for Wales' on-field decline, Josh — one of the experienced voices in the group — refused the lifeline.
"You're not using the off-field issues as a reason for where the Wales team are right now," he said. "And many would say that's exactly the reason for where Wales are now because of all that's gone around the game. Yeah, some people could say that. I don't believe that what is happening above us if you like or outside of us has a real big effect on what we're doing in here."
If the team is not allowed to hide behind the politics, the responsibility lands squarely on the playing group.
"If the team aren't affected by things outside, the team now have the responsibility to turn things around for Wales as we always have," Josh said. "As we always have had the responsibility to do."
The senior players have also stopped pretending tactically. One of the leaders accepted, on camera, that Wales had stood still while the rest of the world moved on.
"The teams were evolving and adapting to the way the game is played and we were slow on that trend," he said. "Did well stand still for a period of time."
Asked what had to change, the answer was three words: "Mentality, strategy."
Despite the bleak headlines, the senior players spoke warmly about Steve Tandy and his coaching staff, and about the environment the new regime is trying to build. "I love people," one said. "I feel in around the environment we're trying to create and you see the passion there is to play for Wales and the understanding of the purpose of what they represent. He's so connected with us as players that makes you want to play for him."
Goal setting, the same player added, has become brutally simple.
"Goal setting meetings are easy now. It's a piece of cake. There is only one goal and that's to win it."
Pundit Jamie credited the experienced core with carrying the rebuild on their backs. "Massive credit to the players amidst a lot of uncertainty off the field in Welsh rugby," he said. "But the role of those players in that squad now are so so important because a lot of younger players are coming into the side."
Dan, on the same panel, was honest about the ceiling Wales could realistically reach in Dublin. "Are we expecting Wales to win this evening against a resurgent Ireland team here in Dublin where Wales haven't got a very good record? No. But are we expecting a similar level of performance that they they they produced in Cardiff a couple of weeks ago? Yes."
Another pundit pushed back hard against the comparisons being drawn between this Welsh group and the team of the previous decade. "You're comparing apples to pairs," he said. "Yes, structurally the academies aren't producing the same players, but we're comparing two completely different things — this group of players compared to the team of the last 15 years. These are generational players. It's just a low period and they need to build their reserves and get back to occasional wins and build confidence amongst themselves."
For Josh, the prize at the end of all this is no longer a Grand Slam. It is something far more modest, and far harder.
"What would be the bigger achievement — being part of a Grand Slam team or turning things around now with this Wales? I struggle to answer that honestly," he said. "To be able to leave this squad in a better place — yeah, that would be a great achievement. That's the target. Of course it is."
"It's a big pressure to have. It is. But that's top level sport. That's elite sport. Us performing will lift the game in Wales and that's our sole focus."
