Where Wales’ 18-Test defeats ranks among the 11 longest winless runs in rugby history
Wales' Dafydd Jenkins appears dejected after the Guinness Men's Six Nations and an inset of Camille Gerondeau of Agen.
Wales finally brought nearly two years of heartbreak and pain to an end, claiming their first win since 2023 by defeating Japan 31-22.
It brought an end to a horrendous losing streak that began at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and led to the sacking of head coach Warren Gatland earlier this year.
With this in mind, we take a look back at some of the longest winless and losing streaks in professional rugby history, with one team losing 36 straight matches before breaking their duck.
13 – Waratahs
Former Super Rugby champions, the Waratahs endured some torrid form that finally came to an end in 2022, with the NSW-based outfit defeating Super Rugby newcomers, the Fijian Drua.
The 40-10 success over the Fijians ended a 13-match losing streak stretching 538 days.
Back in 2020, the Waratahs secured a win over the Melbourne Rebels in their final Super Rugby AU game but would go on to lose every single one of their games in 2021.
17 – Lions
Before going on to reach three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018, the Lions endured a challenging few seasons, notably in 2010 when the side failed to win a single match all season, losing all 13 of their games.
That run continued into their 2011 campaign when they finally ended their losing streak, defeating the Cheetahs 25-20 in Bloemfontein.
That result was not a catalyst for change for the men from Johannesburg, as they would win just two more games that year and draw another.
18 – Wales
The worst run of international defeats by a tier one rugby team. That is, unfortunately, the tag that the proud rugby nation of Wales must wear after losing 18 consecutive Test matches between 2023 and 2025.
Legendary head coach Warren Gatland oversaw much of that run in a horrid second stint in charge of the side that concluded in a Six Nations defeat to Italy.
Wales did edge the Queensland Reds in a touring match in 2024, but lost to every single international team that they came up against after beating Georgia in their final 2023 Rugby World Cup pool match.
A defeat to Argentina saw Wales exit the World Cup at the quarter-final stage before going on to lose every single Six Nations match the following year, resulting in a Wooden Spoon finish.
The same would occur in 2025 before Wales also lost their first July international to an Eddie Jones-led Japan outfit, which resulted in an all-time World Rugby ranking low of 14th. But there would be no repeat when the two sides met a week later, as Matt Sherratt, the interim head coach, finally celebrated a win.
20 – Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle fans have endured tough times before and feature twice on our list after going 20 games without a win over a decade ago.
The Falcons finally brought that run without a win to an end in October 2014 against the Exeter Chiefs, claiming a 29-24 victory. The Dean Richards-coached side would go on to win a further four games and drew another to avoid relegation from the Premiership.
22 – Worcester Warriors
In March 2014, Worcester Warriors ended a more than two-year wait for a Premiership win as they claimed a hard-fought 17-12 victory over fellow strugglers Newcastle.
The Warriors beat Wasps on New Year’s Day 2012, but would lose their next 22 games in the competition.
That result proved to be crucial in the final standings as Worcester would finish in 11th place overall, narrowly avoiding relegation with the Falcons ultimately dropping down the Championship.
25 – Newcastle
Newcastle Falcons went the entire 2023/24 Premiership season without a win, losing all 18 of their matches. That came after losing their final three games of the season before.
This meant that they entered the 2024/25 campaign having lost 21 Premiership matches on the bounce, with their last win coming back in March 2023.
However, Steve Diamond’s men would finally end the Premiership’s longest-ever losing streak in Round Five of the 2024/25 season, claiming a stunning 24-18 victory over the Exeter Chiefs.
Steve Diamond reveals how Newcastle ended the ‘longest run of losses’ in Premiership history
27 – Southland
New Zealand NPC side, Southland, endured one of the longest losing streaks in the tournament’s history, going 27 games, a run that stretched nearly three years.
In fact, the side went 1078 days without a win in the provincial rugby tournament and when they finally ended their drought, they did it in style, thumping Counties Manukau 42-14 in September 2019.
28 – London Welsh
After winning their final game of the 2013/14 season, defeating Worcester Warriors, London Welsh would go the entirety of the 2014/15 season without winning a single Premiership match.
They also lost their eight Challenge Cup matches, losing to Edinburgh, Lyon and Bordeaux-Begles in the tournament’s pool stages.
They were subsequently relegated to the Championship for the next season.
28 – Zebre
In April 2022, Zebre defeated the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship, however, things went rather pear-shaped for the Italian side from then on, losing a record 28 URC games in row.
The Italians finally ended their winless streak in November 2023, when they clinched a shock 12-10 victory over the Sharks.
34 – Agen
One of the worst run of performances in recent memory, French side Agen went a remarkable 34 games without a victory between February 2020 and October 2021.
Agen were saved from relegation during the 2019/20 season after the competition was called off due to the pandemic, but that just delayed the inevitable as they would go the entire 2020/21 season without a win.
They finally ended their winless run by defeating Aurillac 25-14 in Pro D2 in October 2021, having gone 608 days without a win.
That was also the team’s first home win in over two years, having last won in October 2019, defeating Stade Francais.
The side would go on to claim 10 wins in total during their season, claiming a draw as well, as they finished 13th overall on the table, managing to avoid back-to-back relegations.
36 – Italy
The only international losing streak on our list and perhaps the most famous winless run of all-time.
In 2022, Azzurri full-back Ange Capuozzo launched a threatening counter-attack and linked up with winger Edoardo Padovani at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Padovani would canter over the line to set up a crucial conversion to defeat Wales, which fly-half Paolo Garbisi coolly slotted, handing Italy their first Six Nations victory in over seven years.
It was a memorable day in Italian rugby as they finally ended a run of 36 successive defeats in the competition as Garbisi’s conversion sealed the 22-21 victory.
READ MORE: Six Nations: Italy end 36-match losing run with shock victory over Wales in Cardiff