Warren Gatland accepts speculation surrounding his Wales future

Under-fire Wales coach Warren Gatland says he understands the scrutiny he is under.

The New Zealander has overseen a record 11 successive Test match defeats heading into Saturday’s daunting encounter against world champions South Africa.

It has led to intense speculation about whether he will continue in post for Wales’ Six Nations campaign, which begins on January 31 when they face a Paris appointment with France.

Drubbing

Wales tackle South Africa on the back of a home loss to Fiji and 55-20 drubbing by Australia, giving Gatland’s critics plenty of ammunition.

“I try and stay away from it,” Gatland said, “I am not on social media. But I understand it.

“You are not human if you don’t ask yourself some questions about why you are doing it and do you enjoy it? Those things are understandable.

“It is part of the job, isn’t it? You have got to take the good with the bad, and the ups and the downs.

“All I can say is that the amount of people who have contacted me in the last week, and the messages that I’ve had – whether that is by phone or email or messages through my family – it has been incredible.

“There obviously seems to be a bit of a divide, doesn’t there? You know, ‘go or stay’.

“I really do appreciate the people that have reached out and the support that they’ve given me. But you understand that there is another side of opinion as well.”

Intense pressure

Gatland has spoken with his family and the Welsh Rugby Union since the Australia defeat, and he remains under intense pressure ahead of South Africa’s Cardiff visit.

“I do care passionately about Welsh rugby, and that is why I’ve said that if people feel that the best decision is for me to go, then that’s OK, I will move on and look for something else,” he added.

“I honestly believe that making that decision now is, ‘what are you going to achieve, and is someone else going to come in there and start again, and how long is that process going to take?’

“I know for a number of years that we felt like the success we had with the national team was papering over the cracks that were underneath.

“I mentioned in the past that when the dam burst, it was going to take a while to plug it up again. That is probably where we are at the moment.

“We need to look at the future and the pathway and some of the structures to make some changes.

“I have encouraged the union on a number of occasions to be bold about some of the changes that we make in the best interests of Welsh rugby.”