On October 30, Wales made their entire 35-man autumn squad available for interview at the team’s national centre of excellence.
The mood was chipper. The players were amicable and erudite. They spoke openly about the need to return to winning ways after a tough year.
‘School time is over,’ said lock Will Rowlands, one of the more experienced players in a young side. His message was clear – Wales had to start winning.
It was one his team-mates backed as they all sang from the same hymn sheet. You got the sense that while all was far from rosy, Warren Gatland’s team had the ability and personnel to be able to turn the corner. The brutal reality is that simply has not happened.
Fast forward three weeks and Wales’ fortunes have lurched from bad to worse. The mood among the players is now as low as it has ever been.
Head coach Gatland is clinging to his position after presiding over the worst losing run in the history of a proud nation. It stands at 11 Tests.
Wales have lost 11 Tests on the bounce – the worst run in the nation’s history
Head coach Warren Gatland is clinging onto his job, but has not been helped by issues behind the scenes
That sequence is – barring a huge upset – set to move to 12 when world champions South Africa rock up at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
A text to a senior former Wales international to check the temperature was responded to in no uncertain terms. ‘It’s like EastEnders,’ he replied. ‘You can’t make it up!’
It is all a far cry from the end of Gatland’s first, trophy-laden spell in charge when, in 2019, they went on a 14-match unbeaten run, won a Six Nations Grand Slam and briefly became No 1 in the world. So, how did it all come to this?
The answer is in some ways complex, yet in others very simple.
Welsh rugby has been mismanaged so badly that it is now in disarray. It is not just Gatland’s national side – there are problems everywhere.
In the past two years, since Gatland returned for his second stint in charge, Welsh rugby has been hit by off-field problems, a sexism and misogyny scandal and financial issues.
Not all have impacted their fortunes, but the malaise has a number of contributory factors and not all of them fall solely at Gatland’s door.
However, the reality is that all signs point to South Africa being Gatland’s 149th and final game in charge. He is not presiding over a happy camp.
Clearly, Wales are not going to be firing on all cylinders after their winless run made them statistically the worst team in the country’s history. After a string of experienced figures retired both before and after last year’s World Cup, they were left with a young squad.
The players are not necessarily anti-Gatland, but Mail Sport understands there is a feeling that a fresh approach would be beneficial.
We reported after Wales picked up the wooden spoon in the Six Nations that the players were not impressed by the set-up’s coaching methods. There is a sense that more detail is needed and a younger coaching voice would be well received.
It isn’t a happy camp at the moment and a fresh approach may be needed to turn things around
Wales needed to start their autumn campaign with a win but were beaten by Fiji
They were then thrashed by Australia on Sunday, with many fans heading for the exit long before the final whistle
Gatland has always worked his players hard. Historically, he has had great success doing so.
But the squad was understood to be feeling heavy-legged ahead of their defeat by Fiji after two tough weeks in camp. The result was a 24-19 defeat in a must-win game. A week later, Wales shipped 50 points to Australia in what felt like the beginning of the end for Gatland.
All of Wales’ coaches are over the age of 49. They are in charge of a young team. It has not been a straightforward relationship.
Gatland and Co are said to have found it difficult to get their message across. In years gone by, they would have handed out some tough words, but ‘Gen Z’ players of today do not respond to stick. It is the carrot they need.
The sort of approach that saw former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards once plaster George North’s name and face on a PowerPoint with the phrase ‘defence – not international standard’ on it just doesn’t work any more.
Wales’ young players aren’t rocking the boat, they are too callow to revolt. But the squad was left confused by Gatland’s post-Australia comments when he said if it was best for him to leave, then the Welsh Rugby Union should make that call.
Gatland is unlikely to offer his resignation, as he did after the Six Nations defeat by Italy, but has acknowledged the negativity might change if Wales start again with a clean slate. It looks likely that will be the case after the South Africa game.
The reality is the current situation isn’t working. Mail Sport has learned of one Wales player who was excited to be involved this autumn, but has been left hugely disappointed by the team environment. The lack of power and brute force in the side is also something holding them back.
‘Coaching can become lonely. It’s cut-throat,’ said Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus after naming a strong team for the match.
‘Whenever someone is under the pump, you don’t wish anything bad on that person. I wouldn’t say I’d love him(Gatland) to beat us, but I’d love him to be successful.
‘Although we’ve bumped heads in the past, he’s a rugby man through and through. We’ve had good discussions.
‘I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I hope he gets the respect from everyone he deserves. There won’t be a lack of respect from us.’
Gatland has been forced to answer some tough questions. He has taken criticism from former players, some of which has been ugly. It has all become rather sad.
Gatland has taken heavy criticism from some former players and his task is not about to get any easier
Rassie Eramus and his all-conquering South Africa side look likely to inflict a 12th straight defeat on Wales this weekend
At the end of the Australia game, there were no real boos from the Principality Stadium crowd. Many of them had already left. There is a sense of apathy in Wales right now.
Large sections have accepted the decline. It is fair to say that if Gatland does leave, whoever takes over will not just wave a magic wand and bring back success quickly.
It will not be as simple as that, but Wales do have talent. It is hard to escape the feeling that while they are not a Grand Slam side in waiting, they are better than losing 11 straight Tests.
Gatland will name his team for South Africa on Wednesday and front up to the media again.
‘Warren can’t all of a sudden have become a bad coach with his track record,’ Erasmus argued. ‘If you look at Wales individually, there are some world-class players in there.
‘I know the record of losing 11 on the trot is not great, but I also know Warren is a great coach. It’s not quite clicking, but he has fixed things before.’
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