WALES head coach Wayne Pivac admits he fears his team will be underdone for their summer Tests in a scenario similar to the one which preceded their horror campaign at the end of 2020.
Pivac's players played just a handful of interregional friendlies and then only two rounds of PRO14 before the Autumn Nations Cup last year.
The result was just two Welsh wins over Georgia and Italy as the side struggled to get going.
Now the New Zealander believes a repeat scenario is on the cards given the Welsh domestic season ended with its four regions fielding weakened sides in the PRO14's Rainbow Cup.
Pivac told TRP: “It's déjà vu again, isn't it? It's certainly not the ideal scenario for anyone – the players or the Welsh management – but it's through no fault of the Welsh clubs.
“It is what it is and we've got to make sure we get the players in for any little top ups we can. It's not ideal but certainly we're used to things not being ideal for the last year and a half due to the pandemic.
“We just have to adapt and we'll look to do that.”
Wales turned the tables from their poor Autumn Nations Cup in superb fashion to win this year's Six Nations and should still beat Canada and Argentina twice next month.
Pivac, who named Jonathan Davies captain, is without ten of his best players and key backroom staff who are part of the Lions tour of South Africa.
He has kept an eye on his players ahead of the three matches with regular fitness sessions. Wales begin an intense training camp in north Wales this week.
Pivac hasn't been helped by losing key fitness guru Paul Stridgeon – plus his assistant Huw Bennett – to the Lions, but the experienced John Ashby and Ryan Chambers are still in place.
They will play a key role in ensuring Wales get up to speed quickly before they face Canada and former coach Rob Howley in Cardiff on July 3. Two Tests with Argentina then follow.
Pivac has vowed to learn the lessons of the Autumn Nations Cup this summer.
“If you look at England going into the Six Nations with that spine of Saracens players, they were undercooked and it does make a difference,” he said.
“The sooner you can get your hands on the players and get the work into them, the better. It helps them to handle the intensity they will to have to deal with.
“There are some players we'll get back who have played a lot of rugby and our boys should be mentally fresh. We've also got to learn from the mistakes we made during the autumn because we've learned a lot from that period of time. I think we'll be better for it this time round.”
