Why Josh Adams still matters to Wales ahead of Nations Championship

Friday, 03 July 2026 at 19:33

byHarry Tovey

Few players better illustrate the pride and emotional investment that comes with representing Wales than Cardiff’s Josh Adams.

The emotional scenes saw the 31-year-old fighting back tears during a live TV interview in the aftermath of a devastating 48-7 defeat, as he laid bare the pain of the loss but also his passion for still representing Wales.

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It was a raw and unguarded interview that spoke volumes on the current state that Welsh rugby finds itself in. His enduring passion for his country on the international stage remains something to behold.

He’s now one of Steve Tandy’s more senior players, whose guidance and tutelage are so important ahead of not only the Nations Championship but also the lead-up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

However, time is running out for Adams on the international stage, and it will be unlikely that he makes it to another World Cup in 2031. Even representing Wales at the 2027 World Cup isn’t a guarantee.

So Wales need to savour that raw passion that was on show at Allianz Stadium in February, as Adams and the whole of the Wales squad don’t want to repeat afternoons like that for the foreseeable future.

Wales play Fiji, Argentina, and South Africa this month, and every Test offers another opportunity for him to prove he still belongs among Wales’ first-choices in the back-three.

He’s got that opportunity to do so straightaway this summer, tomorrow at the Cardiff City Stadium, as competition is fiercer than ever for the 11, 14, and 15 jerseys. But after being rested last weekend for the match against the Barbarians, he played well for Cardiff in the back end of the United Rugby Championship season, but against the Flying Fijians, he will have his work cut out.

That’s without stating that Wales’ experiment of Louis Rees-Zammit as an international fullback seems to be over, and that now leaves the competition far greater to start.

Adams has reached the point where he isn’t playing to cement his place but to continually reclaim it.

He hasn’t reached the heights of previous summer tours and Six Nations. This is despite scoring twice in the 2026 Six Nations against England and Scotland, but he was handed a two-match ban during the 2025 autumn internationals for a dangerous clear-out on Japan’s Kippei Ishida.

He’ll be 32 at the next World Cup, and with the likes of Tom Rogers (27), Blair Murray (24), Ellis Mee (22), Rio Dyer (26), Tom Bowen (20), Gabriel Hamer-Webb (25), and Rees-Zammit (25), all gunning for places, Adams can’t afford a backward step.

Wales head coach Tandy highlighted the importance of the winger and his resilience, which has largely built his career.

“I think he’s super resilient. He’s an absolute quality player, quality human being,” stated Tandy on how crucial Adams is to this young Wales squad of 882 caps.

What he passes on to the young boys, I think he’s very approachable, so you see young men coming into the camp.

“He’s teaching, he’s learning. But what I love about him as well, he’s open.”

Although Adams has been experiencing an emotionally turbulent time with Welsh rugby of late, his accolades on the international stage remain impressive.

After a stretch of four years with Worcester Warriors, where he had loan spells in between with Cinderford and Nottingham, he joined Cardiff in 2019, where he further established himself as a winger.

He has won Six Nations titles and Grand Slams, and represented the British and Irish Lions on their 2021 tour of South Africa. It’s been some career, but Adams will undoubtedly want this current spell with Wales on the international stage to be his final chapter.

In fact, when Wales face Fiji on Saturday, a whole nation will be vowing to see the Adams of old who scored a hat-trick against the Pacific Island nation at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

He finished that tournament, where Wales reached the semi-finals, as the top try-scorer by crossing on seven occasions.

Fast forward to 2021, behind closed doors, he played in one Test match against the Springboks and finished as the tour’s top try scorer too.

“He’s shared some amazing times with Wales, but he’s had some low moments,” added Tandy.

“But I think that makes him the player he is. I was on the Lions tour with him; he’s a special bloke, a special player.

“To keep physically in the shape you need to be, especially as a back-three player, because that’s about pace as well.

“How he keeps pushing himself to be better, he’s an outstanding leader of the group.

“There’s always those ebbs and flows, but I think the best players come through those times and they learn from them.

“Also, I think they have the ability to share them with the group because international rugby and professional rugby are pretty brutal.

“So having someone like him in the squad for that is huge. But also, I think he’s playing really well, and I thought against Italy, he was fantastic.

“He’s looking really sharp in training as well.”

When Wales have been at their best, Josh Adams has usually been at the heart of it. This summer could catapult him back into a cemented position instead of possibly fighting for a spot.