WRU Chief says Wales "will rise again"

Wales chief executive Abi Tierney has vowed that the national team will "rise again" following their record 68-14 mauling by England last Saturday.

The team's biggest defeat in Cardiff was a 17th successive loss - the worst run of results ever compiled by a tier one side - and condemned them to a wooden spoon finish in the Guinness Six Nations for a second consecutive year.

Writing in an open letter to fans, Tierney revealed that Warren Gatland's successor as permanent head coach will be named soon as she promised better times ahead.

"A result like the recent senior men's against England in Cardiff affects the whole nation - because rugby matters more in Wales," Tierney said.

"We can't fault the players who have played their hearts out and put in every effort during the recent poor run of results.

"Nothing I can say in these paragraphs can change the score on Saturday. There will be a sense of 'how did we come to this? and 'where do we go from here?'

"This result was set in train over many years and there are no quick fixes. However, we know what we need to do, we will get it right and we will rise again.

"We are delivering our plan and we will turn it around.

"We are making new appointments that will help everyone see that the plan is progressing. Soon we will announce a new director of professional rugby.

"This will be swiftly followed by the appointment of a new senior men's head coach."

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