Wales’s latest crushing defeat against Fiji has prompted plenty of soul-searching. A record-equalling 10th straight loss, a first-ever defeat to the Fijians at home and not a single win throughout 2024 have raised the pressure on head coach Warren Gatland to boiling point.
Plenty of former Wales internationals have opted to stick the boot in, with Mike Phillips going on a furious social media rant demanding Gatland be sacked, Alex Cuthbert saying the coach’s job is on the line, Dan Biggar admitting Welsh rugby is at a crossroads and perhaps most damagingly, Jamie Roberts – who is also an independent non-executive director on the Welsh Rugby Union board – claiming they haven’t moved forward as a side at all. For good measure, Roberts and Gatland are now in a war of words over whether the former centre has been rebuked for his comments, given his involvement with the WRU.
However, ex-Wales and British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton – who is working as a TNT Sports pundit throughout the Autumn Nations Series – takes a different approach, believing Gatland needs more time to turn things around, with the end of the 2025 Six Nations serving as his judgment day, providing the remaining autumn games aren’t a complete disaster.
“If you give someone two years [Gatland retook the role as Wales head coach ahead of the 2023 Six Nations], I think that’s fair,” explained Warburton. “Two years sounds like a long time but that’s around 25 Tests and I think that’s a good number. You’ve had the boys for a good amount of time.
“Fiji was one week into the autumn, I’ve always said get to the end of the campaign before making a decision. I mean, if it’s disastrous over the next two weeks, then obviously you might have to re-evaluate that.
“There’s a lot of credit in the bank there with Warren. Let it get to the end of the campaign, then you can do whatever you want but do a full, thorough review before they make a decision.”
Defeats to an Australia side coming off a morale-boosting win over England this weekend and then all-conquering double world champions South Africa the following would mean a first winless calendar year for Wales since the 1930s.
The side are currently undergoing a youth movement and in the past couple of years have gone from having 12 Lions in their matchday squad to just one (Adam Beard) running out against Fiji last weekend. By contrast, Harlequins had two Welsh Lions (Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny) in their starting XV for last Friday night’s Premiership Rugby Cup match against Ealing Trailfinders.
Warburton believes a talent deficiency, with a few notable exceptions, is Wales’s main problem but is surprisingly optimistic about their chances against the Wallabies on Sunday. Jac Morgan and James Botham have been preferred to Tommy Reffell and Taine Plumtree in the back row and the former skipper is adamant that can help the hosts employ a quick fix in Cardiff that may just patch some holes.
“Wales have got some great young players,” said Warburton. “Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams – we’ve got some brilliant players but honestly, I think other countries have more quality in their wider squads than Wales right now.
“To operate at the top level in the Six Nations, you need 10 to 15 of those guys and I don’t think we’ve got 15 players who are of Jac Morgan, Archie Griffin, Dewi Lake’s quality – not now anyway. That’s why coaches are talking about progress because they’re waiting for players to maybe come through.
“But I think Wales will be more competitive this weekend. They’re the sort of team that react quite well to the sort of weeks we’re going through right now when it’s backs up against the wall.
“I like the selection this week. Go-forward, carrying ability is so big in the international game and you need that ability to have gain-line dominance through physicality, through smart plays and through deception and running lines.
“Wales have brought in Jac Morgan and James Botham so that back row now – all of them have played No 8 for their club. From a ball-carrying perspective, it’s our best back row. Maybe we use those guys to hit up on short lineouts – I think that’s a quick fix for this game. With Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Will Rowlands and that whole back row, we’ve got six dynamic ball-carriers, so I’m a lot more optimistic for this weekend in the pack.”
The make-up of Wales’s back row has been the subject of much debate, with Gatland playing either the hugely impressive Morgan or Reffell – who is possibly the biggest breakdown threat in the English Premiership – at No 7, with the other on the bench. Although there may be a temptation to squeeze both into the line-up, Warburton is convinced it’s the right call to make a choice between them on a week-to-week basis.
“Out of your six and seven you need to cover all your bases including a lineout option,” explained Warburton. “If you play Morgan and Reffell, I just feel you lose a lineout option and there’s not as much carrying ability there as you might like.
“If you had a monster front five, who all carry, then you can play them together but Wales don’t have the same size of front five as France or England, for example. So I think you’ve got to get that back in your back row.
“Really, it’s a celebration that we’ve got this many great back rows that we can pick from. The one thing in Wales we’ve never been short of is back-rowers. To be honest, you could pick a lot of those lads and I’m not too fussy – I really rate all of them. It’s a very good thing that Wales have got Tommy and Jac. It will make them both better as a consequence as well.”
Every match of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series is exclusively live on TNT Sports and Discovery+. The Autumn Nations Rugby Show airs every Thursday at 10pm on Quest
