Warren Gatland says the decisions he makes when picking his Wales squad for the Autumn Nations Series will be “best for the future of Welsh rugby”.
It has been a tough year for Wales, who finished bottom at the 2024 Six Nations after losing every game, before suffering back-to-back defeats to Australia in the summer.
A changing of the guard has taken place in the squad in recent years and looks likely to continue for November’s challenging set of fixtures against Fiji, Australia and world champions South Africa.
All three Tests will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+, along with every other match in the Autumn Nations Series.”I’m taking decisions that I think are the best for the future of Welsh rugby,” Gatland said.
“It’s not about making decisions that try to protect my own position. It’s not about thinking ‘I’m under some pressure, should I pick an older or more experienced player who can potentially do a job for a short period over a younger player that we see has got a huge amount of potential?’.
“Those are tough decisions to make but it’s about having the confidence and self-belief that you’re making the best decisions for Welsh rugby.
“It’s probably an unusual position for me to be in where you’re under that pressure, but I’m excited about the challenge.
“I’m well aware that international rugby is about performance and about results and that’s just a fact we have to deal with.
“With that comes expectation and external pressure – but that’s what drives me and gives me the motivation to get out there and work these players hard to hopefully get some results in the Autumn.”
Taulupe Faletau, Josh Adams, Dafydd Jenkins and Elliot Dee are among the big-name injury absentees ahead of Monday’s squad announcement.
Aaron Wainwright is also a fitness doubt, while Gareth Davies announced his international retirement last week.
Gatland has been looking to Welsh regional sides in the United Rugby Championship (URC) for options.
It has been a challenging season so far for the four clubs – Cardiff, Scarlets, Dragons and Ospreys – with the latter propping up the table and none of the quartet currently in the top eight play-off spots.
But Gatland believes there is Welsh talent out there ready to be tested in the international arena.
“Firstly, we’re looking for good men, men who want to be part of a team, who are prepared to go to the well and dig deep,” said Gatland.
“A lot of players, particularly the younger ones, don’t always know the limits of what they can do, and how hard and far they can push themselves at the highest level.
“For a number of them they realise pretty quickly that the step up to international rugby is massive in terms of pace, physicality and intensity.
“I’ve always said as a coach that you can’t coach experience – it has to be learned just by being out there and playing.”
He added: “As a coaching group we’ve identified a number of young players who are outstanding prospects for Wales in the future and who are incredibly talented.”
“We’ve gone down that road and we want to spend more time with developing these players.
“After watching the first few rounds of regional rugby I’ve been impressed by the performances of a number of players, particularly some of the younger ones we’ve had in the squad.”
Wales kick off their Autumn Series campaign against Fiji on Sunday, November 10 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
They then face Australia and South Africa at the same venue on Sunday, November 17 and Saturday, November 23 respectively.
Gatland, a four-time Six Nations winner and three-time Grand Slam champion as Wales coach, hopes the fixtures can help put a smile back on Welsh faces.
“It has been an incredibly challenging year and I’m the first to put my hand up and recognise that, but I’m excited about the challenges ahead,” said Gatland.
“I promise you we’re going to work incredibly hard as a group and hopefully we can show some development as a squad in the autumn campaign. That’s important.”
Which Autumn Nations Series matches are on TNT Sports?
In April, it was announced that TNT Sports would broadcast every game of this year’s Autumn Nations Series. Below is the full list of fixtures and kick-off times BST.
England v New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium, kick-off: 15:10Scotland v Fiji, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, kick-off: 17:40Ireland v New Zealand, Aviva Stadium, kick-off: 20:10England v Australia, Twickenham Stadium, kick-off: 15:10Italy v Argentina, Stadio Friuli, kick-off: 17:40France v Japan, Stade de France, kick-off: 20:10Wales v Fiji, Principality Stadium, kick-off: 13:40Scotland v South Africa, Murrayfield Stadium, kick-off: 16:10Ireland v Argentina, Aviva Stadium, kick-off: 20:10Scotland v Portugal, Murrayfield Stadium, kick-off: 15:10England v South Africa, Twickenham Stadium, kick-off: 17:40France v New Zealand, Stade de France, kick-off: 20:10Italy v Georgia, TBC, kick-off: 13:40Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium, kick-off: 16:10France v Argentina, Stade de France, kick-off: 20:10Ireland v Fiji, Aviva Stadium, kick-off: 15:10Wales v South Africa, Principality Stadium, kick-off: 17:40Italy v New Zealand, Allianz Stadium, kick-off: 20:10Scotland v Australia, Murrayfield Stadium, kick-off: 13:40England v Japan, Twickenham Stadium, kick-off: 16:10Ireland v Australia, Aviva Stadium, kick-off: 15:10Stream the Gallagher Premiership, 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women’s Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
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