Wales are moving backwards, says John

Barry John has delivered a damning verdict on Welsh rugby following yet another record defeat.

John, the fly half against whom England never had much more than the ghost of a chance, summed up the state of his country's national sport following the 50-10 loss at Twickenham. He said: 'We are hurtling backwards as a rugby nation. We are not even standing still.

'You see a Welsh side totally outclassed by a below-par England XV who won't have been happy with their own performance. It was almost like a training run for England from about five minutes onwards.

'They threw out outrageous passes knowing that if they dropped the ball and conceded possession, they would regain it immediately. I suppose, in its way, that indicated the lack of respect England had for Wales.' There were no angry public calls for players or coaches to be sacked, just a grim reminder from another of their greats as to how far Wales have fallen.

Graham Price, the most-capped Lions Test prop of all-time, said: 'I can remember losing by around 20 points to the All Blacks in 1980 and that sparked all sorts of inquests into the state of the Welsh game. If that happened now there would be talk about how we are moving in the right direction.' Leinster coach Matt Williams was in London yesterday, finalising negotiations to take charge of Saracens following Francois Pienaar's resignation.

Wasps hooker Phil Greening escaped suspension yesterday after being cited by Wales for allegedly stamping on an opponent during England's semi-final win at the Hong Kong Sevens. A disciplinary panel imposed a one-match retrospective ban, which Greening effectively served by sitting out the victory over Fiji in the final.