Rarely can two national coaches head into a Test match on the back of such varying form as Wales’ under-fire Warren Gatland and South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus.
Gatland has overseen a record 11 successive defeats and a loss to the Springboks in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday would leave Wales without a win in a calendar year for the first time since 1937.
Erasmus, however, heads to the Welsh capital having overseen back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, while his side also wrapped up this year’s Rugby Championship.
He has fielded an astonishing 51 players thus far this season, showcasing a remarkable strength in depth of which Gatland and his coaching crew can but dream.
Wales lost 24-19 to Fiji and 52-20 to Australia in their opening two November Tests while the Boks have swatted away the attentions of Scotland (32-15) and England (29-20).
The Boks have, alarmingly for Wales, racked up 50 tries in their 12 Tests this year so far, their two defeats two single-point losses to Ireland and Argentina respectively.
But Erasmus was keen not to play down the threat posed by Wales.
“Wales are a proud nation with a world-renowned coach in Warren Gatland and they’ll do everything to finish their campaign on a high note,” he said.
“A lot can change in rugby with a change in confidence and mindset, and Australia is a perfect example of how things can change in the sport if one considers how well they are playing now compared to last year (when they failed to advance from their World Cup pool).
“So, we’ll show Wales the same respect we showed England and Scotland, and we know we know we have to be at our best to come out with the result we want.
“They are a team with everything to gain and nothing to lose, so it would be careless of us to think that we just need to pitch up and the result will go in our favour.”
Ups with the downs
The South African’s attempt to apply a healthy sugar coating to Wales’ woes will fall on deaf ears with Welsh rugby fans, the majority of whom believe the sport is nearing rock bottom.
Not only is there strife on the international stage, but the four under-supported and under-funded regions are failing to perform.
There have been player contract disputes and a national federation accused of sexism and misogyny, while player numbers at grassroots level are also declining.
Last week’s Test against the Wallabies saw just 56,188 fans in the Principality Stadium, nearly 18,000 down on capacity.
“You are not human if you don’t ask yourself some questions about why you are doing it and do you enjoy it?” Gatland said of the scrutiny and pressure he has come under thanks to the unwanted loss record.
“It is part of the job, isn’t it? You have got to take the good with the bad, and the ups with the downs.”
Gatland acknowledged having had discussions not only with his family but also the Welsh Rugby Union in the wake of the Australia defeat.
“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 okay, I will move on and look for something else,” the Kiwi said.
Gatland took over from compatriot Wayne Pivac in 2022, but in his first stint in charge from 2008-19 he oversaw four Six Nations Championships titles and two appearances at Rugby World Cup semi-finals.
“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,” he admitted.
“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.”
