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Warren Gatland comes out swinging about his future as Wales boss
By PA
A defiant Warren Gatland has claimed he absolutely has the desire to continue in his role as Wales head coach. Speculation continues to rage about Gatland’s future after a record run of 11 successive Test match defeats. World champions South Africa are next up for Wales on Saturday, with the Springboks overwhelming favourites to emphatically extend that losing sequence.
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A South Africa victory would mean Wales going the entire calendar year without winning a Test, which has not happened since 1937. “If you start thinking about other things, it is a distraction you don’t need,” said Gatland, after naming a team showing five changes from the one beaten 52-20 by Australia.
“We have been pretty clear in terms of the plan we have had. We have got a group of young players that need a bit of time. I have been pretty honest in terms that I understand the pressures of international rugby with performances and results. We can only work as hard as we have done.
“I am aware of the pressure and that decisions could be made outside of my control. We have just asked for a little bit of time. Whether we get that time, we will have to wait and see.”
Asked if he had a strong desire to continue, Gatland replied “absolutely”, while also confirming he would consider resigning if he thought it was in Welsh rugby’s best interests. Gatland, meanwhile, ended speculation that he might have had a break clause in his contract with the Welsh Rugby Union after the Six Nations, confirming that was not the case.
During his first stint as boss between 2008 and 2019, Wales were twice Rugby World Cup semi-finalists, in addition to winning Six Nations titles and Grand Slams. But this time around Wales have plummeted outside the world’s top 10-ranked countries and have won just six of 23 Tests under Gatland’s direction since he returned in late 2022.
Wales host the Springboks on the back of a comprehensive defeat against Australia and home loss to Fiji. They have not won a Test since the 2023 World Cup. Gatland revealed on Sunday that he had spoken with WRU executive director of rugby Nigel Walker and WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood immediately after the Wallabies game.
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After the Springboks encounter, Wales’ next game is a tough Six Nations opener against France in Paris on January 31. Gatland’s switches from the side crushed by Australia see starts for wing Rio Dyer, fly-half Sam Costelow, lock Christ Tshiunza and number eight Taine Plumtree.
One positional change, meanwhile, has wing Blair Murray moving to full-back instead of Cameron Winnett. Dyer wears the number 11 shirt worn by Murray in the last two games, with Costelow replacing Gareth Anscombe, Tshiunza taking over from an injured Adam Beard and Plumtree replacing Aaron Wainwright.
On the replacements’ bench, meanwhile, there is a role for uncapped Gloucester forward Freddie Thomas, and his club colleague Josh Hathaway is also included. A gulf in experience between the two teams is highlighted by the Wales matchday 23 having a total of 334 caps, whereas the Springboks bench alone boasts 431.
Gatland added: “Last week’s result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans. There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy. We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions.”
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With rugby coaches, past performance is a relevant pointer about future success. In his many assignments, Gatland has been successful in the longer term, but has quite often taken time to get there. He has not really been a rapid turnaround guy, but a patient builder of a model for consistent success.
Also, unlike Australia or England, both of which are also in rebuild phases, the current Wales team is not exactly full of household names. The household names have moved on, and he has a relatively junior crew left. For a sense of that, compare the Wales (starting 15) caps against Australia (279) with the equivalent Springbok caps against England (767).
So Gatland is doing his thing, a gradual build of a team that can execute consistently well, and he is doing so with an inexperienced team. IMV Gatland should be given plenty of time to get this working.