Warren Gatland said he wanted to remain Wales coach despite a disastrous year in which his side have lost all 11 tests they have played, but admitted his future was uncertain in the wake of Saturday’s 45-12 loss to South Africa in Cardiff.
Wales are the second tier one nation ever, after Italy four years ago, to lose all their tests in a single calendar year in the professional era, and have now extended their record winless run to 12 games.
Gatland said he would not resign though and believes there is hope heading into the 2025 Six Nations that starts in late January.
“We’ll just wait and see what happens in the next couple of days,” Gatland told reporters when quizzed about his future. “The last couple of weeks have been challenging and you’re only human. The negativity affects you.
“We’ve got a good group of men working hard, it feels like we’re only going to get better. I feel like I’m in a no-win situation when I answer these questions. I do definitely want to be here and it’s (about) letting the dust settle.
“We’ve questioned things we’ve done. You do that if you’re winning too. It’s seeing what happens over the next few days, chatting with the powers that be (in the Welsh Rugby Union) and family too.”
South Africa scored seven tries to Wales’s two on Saturday but were more dominant than the scoreline suggested. Their errors, and some brave Welsh defence, kept down the score.
“I’m not content with the result but I can’t question how hard the players tried,” Gatland said. “They (South Africa) are world champions. You know how powerful they are. Going away from this campaign, some of the players are aware there’s some conditioning work (to be done). Not everyone.
“What they learned tonight is little things that quality sides take advantage of. We got caught a couple of times. Hopefully they’ll be better for that. I thought the effort and what the players put in, people should be proud of that.”
Gatland said patience was required as he rebuilds the squad following the loss of several key players after last year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
“That’s been a real challenge for us,” he said. “It takes time and it’s hard to replace overnight.”
