'Only human' Warren Gatland faces the press after Wales' winless 2024

Warren Gatland said he remains “motivated” for his job as head coach and has a desire to stay in charge after Wales suffered a 12th successive Test match defeat.

Wales’ 45-12 loss to world champions South Africa in Cardiff meant they have gone a whole calendar year without winning a Test, which has not happened since 1937.

Whether Gatland, who has now lost 18 of 24 Tests since returning for a second stint in charge, is still at the helm for a daunting Six Nations opener against France in Paris on January 31 must now be a subject of intense debate.

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Gatland said he would speak to the “powers that be” and see what happens over “the next few days”, but also took considerable encouragement from a battling Wales performance.

Wales trailed 19-0 inside the opening quarter and 26-5 at half-time, yet they managed to avoid a horror scoreline that at a couple of stages appeared inevitable.

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“Look, I am motivated to want to be here,” Gatland said.

“I do definitely want to be here, and it is just about letting the dust settle over the next few days, talking to people about the best thing. Talking to people in the Union (Welsh Rugby Union), too.

“We will just wait and see what happens in the next couple of days.

“I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t say the last few weeks haven’t been challenging and tough. We’ve questioned ourselves after each game, what could we have done better, what could I have done better in the week with preparation.

“That is no different to when you are winning, too. You will still ask yourself the same questions. It is seeing what happens over the next few days, go and chat with the powers that be and also talk to family, too.

“Like I said, the last couple of weeks have been challenging in terms of the amount of negativity.

“You are only human, and that has a little bit of an impact on you.

“You have got to assess what has happened in the last few weeks and talk to the right people.

“For a long time, I think there have been issues within the game. The success we’ve had in the past has probably papered over some of those cracks.

“We have talked about the dam bursting, and it has. It’s going to take a little time to fix it and get back on track.

“What I saw today from this group of young men and players, it gave me a lot of positive hope that there is an opportunity for us to improve and get better for the Six Nations in terms of the learnings from this campaign.”

The Springboks ran in seven tries – Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Aphelele Fassi, Elrigh Louw, Jordan Hendrikse and Gerhard Steenekamp touched down – while Hendrikse kicked five conversions.

Wales claimed consolation scores from wing Rio Dyer and flanker James Botham, with Ben Thomas adding one conversion, but the game was done inside the opening quarter after South Africa posted three tries and Wales ultimately had to reflect on a third autumn reversal following wins for Fiji and Australia.

Gatland added: “It was a tough game. A really tough game. But I cannot question how hard our players tried out there – I thought they gave absolutely everything.

“When you play the world champions, you know how clinical they are, how effective they are, the power they can bring off the bench with the 6-2 split.

“For us, it’s going away from this campaign with a few players – not everyone – aware there is some conditioning work to do so they are in better shape for the next campaign.”