WELSH rugby today stands horribly bare. The only conclusion after Saturday's record 36-6 mauling by Ireland is that it could be BANKRUPT - on and off the field.

ON the field Wales produced probably the worst performance in its history, worse even than recent thrashings by England and France.

It was the highest number of points scored by either side in the 120-year history of the fixture and it was a record margin of victory.

Contrary to what was said about Welsh readiness, there appeared no preparation, no ideas, not a clue.

Players appeared out of their depth, basic mistakes were made and Wales were never in the hunt.

OFF the field Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union could potentially be exposed as equally poverty stricken.

Fans were streaming out of the ground before the end of the game. How many will return for November's meaningless matches against Argentina and Tonga?

And, worst of all, if Australia decide not to tour because of the war in Afghanistan it will cost the WRU close on £2m and they are already in debt to the tune of almost £50m on the Millennium Stadium.

How then could they afford to employ the most highly paid coach in world rugby? Graham Henry earns an estimated £250,000 a year, and then there is new defence coach Clive Griffiths and another Kiwi, Steve Hansen, to follow as assistant next month. It leaves the Union presiding over the most expensive coaching set-up in the world but with the worst squad among the leading nations.

Last night Henry apologised for the woeful performance. He said: "It was embarrasing, the players and myself would like to apologise to the watching public." Among many questions which now need to be asked is are the players still playing for Henry?

There were stories of a number being thoroughly disaffected after they were overlooked or ignored by Henry when he was in charge of the British Lions in the summer. Colin Charvis was in the forefront and he was the first player to be replaced on Saturday. Has he and others now lost faith in Henry?

It may be, probably is, wrong to lay all the blame at the coach's door, but if the players are no longer performing for him then how can he stay?

Previous coaches John Ryan, Alan Davies and Kevin Bowring all departed for the same reason.

And what about the structure? Is a hotch-potch of a season, switching from one competition to another, the best way to prepare Welsh players? And why not appoint coaches from within? Mike Ruddock is an excellent coach to start with.

How does the new Welsh defensive coach look after the defence leaked three tries? And it could have been more. Questions, questions. Now someone has got to come up with the answers, and quickly.