A WEEK is a long time in rugby, it is in Welsh rugby anyway. After writing of a hopeful new year in this column seven days ago suddenly it’s all doom and gloom again.

That’s the way it is with Welsh rugby, but even allowing for our normal characteristics when we're either on cloud nine or through the floor, you have to admit it's been a bad week.

So much so that after earlier optimistic opinion Wales could be in for a successful Six Nations, the signs are now looking anything but hopeful.

Just when it appeared the woes of the autumn were over after players of the calibre of Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny, Lee Byrne and Shane Williams were sidelined for all or part of the series, the jinx has struck again with a real vengeance.

The column a week ago discussing the embarrassment of riches at inside centre now seems almost irrelevant and has been overtaken by one mishap after another.

Leading loose head prop Gethin Jenkins has been ruled out of the whole tournament with a damaged toe which needed an operation, a harsh blow to Wales' Six Nations hopes.

As if that wasn't bad enough tight head prop Adam Jones has now gone down with an elbow injury suffered against London Irish on Sunday which makes him a Six Nations doubt as well.

The position here is even worse for tight head is the area where Wales are really struggling for depth, the one position up front where there is no ready made replacement.

For ages Wales has been holding its breath hoping nothing would happen to the Ospreys hair bear because not only has he become one of the best tight heads in the world but also because there is such a lack of cover.

But now the worst case scenario has actually happened and Jones is injured, a loss which, together with the absence of Jenkins, is almost incalculable.

They are both respected Lions props, and probably no country could withstand the loss of such a dual force.

On top of that Wales have lost scrum half Richie Rees, who misses the entire Six Nations because of suspension, while centre Andrew Bishop is sidelined by a knee injury. Both could have expected to be replacements, but their absence is further diluting Welsh depth.

The injury situation is pretty dire with the England game looming on February 4, and the alarm bells are ringing on the wider front as well with the Welsh regions a disaster in Europe.

Newport Gwent Dragons and Cardiff Blues were knocked out of the Heineken Cup by the halfway stage of the pool matches and the Ospreys followed suit with their dismal performance against London Irish.

With one round left only the Scarlets - as predicted here before the tournament started - are the only Welsh team in with a chance of making the quarter-finals, but that is a pretty forlorn hope as they will have to win in Perpignan and Leicester lose at home to Treviso for that to happen.

So realistically Wales will not have a side in the knock-out stages for the first time for four years, hardly the best way to go into the Six Nations campaign - on top of all the injury woe.

Elsewhere in the paper today people involved give their reasons for this demise, most of it focusing around one word - resources.

As for those who claim even after eight years of failure, that it is down to the regions taking over from the clubs, the theory is blown out of the water by one example right here on our doorstep.

In 2003 during the time of Tony Brown a Newport team including players of the ability of Shane Howarth, Matt Mostyn, Andy Marinos, Ofisa Tonu'u, Chris Anthony, Rod Snow, Simon Raiwalui, Ian Gough, Jason Forster and Andy Powell travelled to Toulouse and conceded a massive 70 points, the final score a humiliating 70-18.

Fast forward to Saturday and a side of apparent no hopers representing Newport Gwent Dragons, the region castigated by so many even on their own doorstep, made the same journey. The margin of defeat? A mere 17-3. Enough said.