Adams urges Wales to move on from 125-point autumn horror ahead of Argentina and Springboks tests

Josh Adams has urged Wales not to get “hung up” on their encouraging Six Nations form as they prepare to face Argentina in San Juan and world champions South Africa in Durban over the next fortnight in the Nations Championship.

The warning comes with fresh context. Wales conceded 125 points across two autumn Tests against the same opponents — Argentina won 52-28 in Cardiff before South Africa inflicted a record 73-0 defeat on a squad stripped of its English and French-based players outside the official Test window.

Adams, who scored his 25th Test try in Wales’s opening 39-24 Nations Championship victory over Fiji, believes the side that travels south will look markedly different. “We feel as a team that we’ve progressed from then,” the Cardiff winger said. “I’d like to think they’ll see a progression in our game.”

The 31-year-old has personal experience of the venues ahead. He started both Tests during Wales’s two-match series win in Argentina in 2018, including the first Test in San Juan. “I played at San Juan back in 2018 and I won,” Adams said. “But I know how tough it is and I know how good the Argentinians are at the minute. They are a very good team. You talk about Tests — and that’s right up there.”

The victory over Fiji was Wales’s third in a row, following wins over Italy and the Barbarians — their first run of three consecutive victories since the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Adams acknowledged the momentum but was careful to keep it in perspective.

“The boys referred to it from the Ireland and Scotland games in the Six Nations and then beating Italy,” he said. “We can’t get hung up on that because that’s a previous campaign when we did well. There were loads of good improvements from the Six Nations, which was pleasing. We saw the game out and managed it really well.”

With Steve Tandy’s squad now three campaigns into a rebuild, Adams senses a shift in internal standards. “We want to kick on — we’ve been together now for three campaigns. There’s more expectation now within our group and we put more pressure on ourselves to achieve things. Our game’s moving on nicely.”