It’s been a long time since I had the opportunity to send Bill Beaumont, my British Lions team mate and captain, a leg-pulling email following a Wales victory over England. I can deal with having my own leg pulled quite easily but it’s the expressions of sympathy that I find difficult to accept. On Saturday one would have thought there had been a bereavement. After what we had been through during the past two years our 68-14 defeat to England was an accident waiting to happen. It was a thoroughly humiliating experience. Obviously, to achieve improvements we can’t carry on as we have been but where do you even start? It’s easy to blame the players, after all they were the ones on the field making the mistakes or falling short in achieving their potential. But they are just products of our system. Most of the coaches have been subject to their fair share of criticism in their time, as well, but they are all part of the same failing system. If Saturday's match was a trial for the British and Irish Lions, not one Welsh player would have been selected and that includes Jac Morgan. England were in the same position as us in having to change their national coach in the run up to the Rugby World Cup. Our positions could not be more different now. Their players are from an environment where there is a greater population of players to choose from. They are playing in a more competitive and challenging competition that prepares the players for the step up to international level. When Warren Gatland used to get the players back from the regions, he had to spend time bringing their fitness level back up to the standards required of international players. This was valuable time that should have been spent on more relevant issues. It is not the responsibility of the national coach to bring the players up to the standard required. That is the responsibility of the regions and the system beneath and they are just not doing it. When Graham Henry was appointed as Wales coach in the late nineties, he was appalled at the lack of international quality Welsh players. He tried to increase the size of the available player pool by scouring the world for Welsh-qualified talent, leading to the infamous ‘Grannygate’ scandal. Steve Hansen dealt with the same problem by coaching the players to become more professional and, in that respect, he did quite a good job, but not results-wise. He used to say "the performance is more important than the result". Back in New Zealand he would never have been allowed to get away with that. Gatland in his first term as national coach achieved success by converting Jamie Roberts from a back three player into a number 12 who became a fundamental part of his ‘Warrenball’ strategy. Understandably, their desire was to coach us in the ways they knew best which was the ways of New Zealand rugby. However, it isn’t the natural way of the players we traditionally produce. Take Shane Williams, he didn’t fit the profile of the typical New Zealand wing. Consequently, he didn’t get a look in under Hansen until the 2003 World Cup when Hansen saw the light. It appears both Henry and Hansen learnt from their mistakes while coaching Wales and they both, eventually, went on to be World Cup-winning coaches for New Zealand. As I have said so many times before, if you don’t learn the lessons of the past it doesn’t augur well for the future. It seems that there is a history of us not learning from our mistakes. How many wake up calls do you need? We have just experienced two years’ worth of them. If I were to mention every issue it would be far too long for this column. But here is just a few. I cast my mind back to the early nineties when the WRU put the league structure in place. Unfortunately, people who had no experience of running club rugby themselves were making decisions that controlled the day-to-day running of the first class clubs. It was a recipe for disaster. The composition of the Welsh Premier division has been changed so many times that it has become ridiculous, and now we have Super Rygbi Cymru above it. It seems that when Nigel Walker or any of his predecessors were appointed in the role, they had different ideas of how many clubs should be in it and what its purpose should be. The problem is none of them stayed in the position long enough to face the music if it wasn’t successful. However, in my opinion, the worst decision was made by David Moffett, and whoever was advising him at the time, who imposed the regions on Welsh rugby. We have suffered the consequences ever since. Moffett has, subsequently, gone on record by admitting they should be scrapped. The most important appointment will be the Director of Rugby position. He has got to be someone in the mould of Ray Williams who I have mentioned many times in previous columns. Ray was not just a visionary but he also had an great affinity for what made Welsh rugby great. One attribute that will be absolutely imperative for the new person to possess is a thick skin. The Welsh rugby public will demand immediate results and you will never please everyone. If we don't make changes now it could be some time yet before I get to send Bill Beaumont another email.