Wales fell to their second Six Nations defeat in a week on Saturday, with Scotland dismantling them with ease at Murrayfield.
It was Warren Gatland's first-ever defeat to the Scots and the head coach didn't pull any punches in hist post-match press conference, stating further ruthlessness with now be required.
Where Wales go from here is a difficult question to answer; they now have two weeks to lick their wounds before England rock up at the Principality Stadium, no doubt with their own point to prove.
READ MORE: Scotland skipper fires back at Dan Biggar and Wales warned of 'grenades' of criticism this week
The media were highly unimpressed with Wales' showing last weekend against Ireland and it's a similar story this Sunday.
Here are the press highlights from a sobering afternoon for the men in red.
MailOnline - Wales didn’t deserve to take anything
Scotland made Wales fly-half Dan Biggar eat his pre-match words as Gregor Townsend’s side recorded back-to-back opening Six Nations wins for the first time.
Biggar had heaped the pressure on the hosts before kick-off and poked fun at their lack of Championship success. Ultimately, it backfired in spectacular fashion as Wales were hammered again.
After a stunning clash between Ireland and France, the second game of round two was nowhere near the quality that was on show in Dublin. Not that Scotland will care a jot as they backed up their Calcutta Cup victory over England at Twickenham with a deserved and convincing home success.
For Wales, there was more disappointment. Gatland had made the big call to drop the experienced Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric. Rookie forwards Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan all started in the pack.
Jenkins and Tshiunza both had good games. But as a whole, Wales didn’t deserve to take anything from the match and their title hopes for 2023 are over after a second straight loss.
Telegraph - what are Wales doing to Gatland's legacy?
In contrast (to Scotland) Gatland must wonder what he has walked into after agreeing to replace Wayne Pivac in December. After a similar shellacking to Ireland on the first weekend, he went to the next generation of players and although Dafydd Jenkins, the young lock, and blindside Christ Tshiunza were promising and the back row as a unit competed valiantly for the first 50 minutes, there is barely anything to spot but gloom with England next up in Cardiff in two weeks.
This is the first time Wales have lost their first two Six Nations matches in 16 years. It has not even been close. Wales have conceded 69 points and scored 17, but in both encounters they had enough entreaties into the opposition’s 22 to make this deficit absurd. What are they doing to Gatland’s CV, never mind his legacy?
The Guardian - Wales have a massive rebuild on their hands
Wales, so often Scotland’s scourge of late, are not the Wales of recent times. Warren Gatland, whistled up to work his magic once more, dispensed with hundreds of caps for this. Christ Tshiunza was probably the pick of the youngsters here, but he was not the only one to play well.
Wales’s deeper problem is that they now find those caps they have borne for so long start to bear down on them. Suddenly, they have a massive rebuild on their hands. They will continue the task bottom of the table, with the weight of everyone else bearing down on them as well.
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The Times - no last laugh for Gatland
For once, Warren Gatland did not have the last laugh. For once, Scotland did not allow themselves to be dragged down to the level of a poor Welsh team. Instead they produced a display that bristled with ambition, precision and aggression to not only get a major monkey off their backs but boot the thing high into the massed ranks of a jubilant home support who are now very much daring to dream.
For the first time in the Six Nations era, the Scots have won both of their first two tournament matches, and next they travel to face a French team bruised by their first defeat since Gregor Townsend’s men won there on their previous visit to Paris two years ago.
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