Wales Rugby Union is experiencing another extremely challenging time. With Warren Gatland’s side setting their longest losing streak record in test rugby this year. We’re looking back over the calendar as to where things went wrong and what needs to improve in the future.
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00:00So, Charles, if we look at Wales rugby, it's not been great of late, to be fair, has it?
00:08Obviously, the loss against Fiji just compounded what has been a really poor run for Wales
00:16rugby under Warren Gatland. You could argue he's now becoming really under pressure, given
00:21the run that they've been on, because, of course, they haven't won in so long now. Obviously,
00:27you've got the Six Nations to come in the new year. There's no more games anymore in
00:31terms of this calendar year. Six Nations in the new year, that's going to be really tough
00:36for them, given how some of the other sides are doing. I mean, to be fair, though, obviously
00:40England and Ireland haven't been in great form either. So it could actually be a wide
00:44open Six Nations. But even then, though, you always feel like the likes of England and
00:47Ireland and France step up their games when it comes to that competition in the spring.
00:53How is it all looking to you, to be honest, though? Because where do Wales improve here?
00:58Is it a change of manager or is it just a form thing?
01:02Yeah, obviously, it's difficult and it's been difficult for quite a while, that's fair to
01:08say. I think even Warren Gatland has admitted it. He has openly accepted questions over
01:14his future and the future of Welsh rugby. There's been moments where he said, and a
01:19lot of media have said, that it's a building progress. It's a long sort of journey that
01:26we have to adjust things and change things and go with younger squads. He's made regular
01:32call-ups to English rugby leagues, going against the sort of Welsh rugby. It's sort of an unspoken
01:42law that you play in Wales rugby league to get a Welsh call-up rather than England. But
01:47he's sort of gone against that and he's gone with a few Welsh players who play in the English
01:51leagues, which is a bold claim. But there is so much talent for Wales rugby in those
01:58leagues. Admittedly, very young and they lost a lot of assets last summer after the World
02:05Cup and the Six Nations before that as well. So, they've lost a lot of assets, a lot of
02:10experience in that as well. But he's very open in accepting questions about his pressure,
02:16obviously. 2024 hasn't been an amazing year for Welsh rugby. It's probably been, actually,
02:24on record, statistically, the darkest for many, many fans and as long as people can
02:32remember. So, an 11th successive Test match defeat in Cardiff as well against Australia.
02:41And that just shows, I mean, it's absolutely something that these sides are coming to
02:46Cardiff, a place where no one used to want to come and they are getting wins and comfortable
02:51wins as well. So, yeah, it's not been an amazing year at all for Welsh rugby and Warren Gatlin's
02:57future is certainly in the balance.