Gatland to 'stay the course'

REACTION: Warren Gatland insisted he remained “motivated” to stay on as Wales coach despite overseeing a record 12th consecutive Test defeat by South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday.

Gatland, in his second stint in charge, has not experienced a Test victory since a pool win over Georgia at the World Cup in October 2023.

The 12-45 loss to the Springboks at the Millennium Stadium meant Wales finished the calendar year without a win for the first time since 1937.

“I definitely want to be here,” Gatland said.

“It’s about letting the dust settle over the coming days.

“I’m motivated to want to be here.

“It’s about talking to the union, family and friends.

“It’s been challenging the last couple of weeks, I’m only human.

“You don’t make a decision straight after a game.

“Let’s just see what happens over the next few days.”

The Welsh Rugby Union hold their AGM in Cardiff on Sunday where Gatland’s future will doubtless be discussed after the trio of November losses that also included defeats by Fiji (19-24) and Australia (20-52).

Wales’ next fixture will be the Six Nations opener against France in Paris, followed by a tricky trip to Italy.

“We’ve punched massively above our weight for several years,” argued Gatland.

“We’ve been saying when the dam burst it’s going to take a little bit of time to put things right and the dam has burst.

“We have to make sure collectively with the regions we work together,” he said, with Wales’ four regions consistently underperforming in Unite d Rugby Championship and Champions and Challenge Cup competitions.

Gatland, who saw an influx of younger, inexperienced players called up to replace a raft of senior players who retired after last year’s World Cup, added: “Our boys tried hard out there, they gave everything.

“I think they’ll learn. Hopefully, there will be a step up.”

Wales received warm words from Bok captain Siya Kolisi, who said that his team had been where they are “a couple of years ago”.

“You just can’t stop believing,” Kolisi said.

“Look at their starting backline, one of our guys had more caps than everybody.

“You have to be realistic. Some of the guys are getting their new caps. Next year they’ll be a little bit more experienced, it will take time.

“This is a proud rugby nation, like South Africa. I have no doubt they’ll pick it up.”

Wales flank Jac Morgan, who made 28 tackles, said the team had shown glimpses of what they could do.

“Our discipline in parts was poor, it let us down and let them get territory and chances to score.

“A team like South Africa, it’s hard.”

Morgan added: “It’s been tough in recent weeks. Not a single one of the games we’ve gone out to lose.

“We go out and give 100 percent as a group. A couple of things didn’t go our way.

“The wheel will turn and hopefully we can build as a team and in a few months we will improve and the results will come.”