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CARDIFF, Wales — Following Wales’ defeat to South Africa, which culminated in a 45-12 scoreline on Saturday, Coach Warren Gatland has firmly stated that he will not resign from his position, despite the team facing a winless year for the first time in nearly nine decades.

Last March marked a turning point for Gatland when he offered his resignation after Wales endured their first wooden spoon finish in the Six Nations Championship in 21 years. However, that offer was declined.

Since that time, Wales has faced a grim string of losses, totaling 11 in this calendar year alone. This grim record has now extended to 12 consecutive defeats after their quarterfinal exit from the 2023 Rugby World Cup held in France, marking the longest losing streak in the history of Welsh rugby, which dates back 143 years.

Gatland explained the distinction between the Six Nations and the autumn international matches to broadcaster TNT Sports, noting, “The Six Nations is different, that’s a competition. Traditionally, the autumn is used for development.” He acknowledged the significance of the Six Nations to the Welsh Rugby Union, highlighting its implications from both a performance and financial standpoint.

This month has been particularly challenging, as Wales experienced its first-ever home defeat to Fiji and then allowed Australia to score their highest points tally at home. The build-up to the match against South Africa was tinged with a sense of inevitability given recent performances.

In his second tenure as coach, Gatland has only secured a single win in ten home fixtures. Reflecting on his situation, he shared that his wife Trudi had suggested considering a role as director of rugby. Nonetheless, he remains determined not to step down unless it is unequivocally in the best interest of Welsh rugby. He expressed a commitment to his four-year contract, emphasizing the need for time and patience to turn the team’s fortunes around.

“It’s been challenging, the last couple of weeks,” Gatland admitted. “I am only human and when you get a significant amount of negativity it is tough.” Despite the challenges, he found some solace in what he regarded as the team’s strongest performance of the autumn during the match against South Africa.

Wales faced additional adversity leading up to the match, with late withdrawals of key players including tighthead prop Gareth Thomas due to illness and wing Tom Rogers due to a calf injury. Encouraged by the resilience shown, Gatland noted that the captain, Dewi Lake, along with Jac Morgan and James Botham, significantly motivated the team to limit South Africa to seven tries.

However, the challenges facing Welsh rugby extend far beyond the national team. Each of the four regional teams is grappling with budget reductions and are finding it hard to secure wins. The Wales under-20 academy has been disbanded, further compounding the difficulties. The sport has also seen the retirement of many pivotal players from its recent successful era, greatly impacting Gatland’s past achievements.

“We punched massively above our weight for a number of years and we’ve been saying that when the dam bursts it’s going to take a little bit of time to put things right,” noted Gatland. “The dam has burst.” He emphasized the necessity for better collaboration between the national union and the regional clubs, along with an improvement in player conditioning as they prepare for the Six Nations in February.

“There needs to be an agreement between the union and regions to affect positive change,” he asserted. “It’ll take time; it won’t happen overnight. But I came away from today thinking that if these players can learn, there’s some hope. What I saw today from this group of young men gave me a lot of hope that there’s an opportunity to improve and get better for the Six Nations.”
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