Gatland farewell at end of annus horribilis? Wales v South Africa talking points

Wales face world champions South Africa on Saturday in what could be head coach Warren Gatland’s final game at the helm.

Gatland’s players are on the back of a record 11 successive Test defeats and look unlikely to remotely trouble the Springboks.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points ahead of the match.

Farewell to Warren Gatland?

Wales’ year from hell

Have Wales fans had enough?

Springboks’ enviable strength

South Africa’s revered rugby juggernaut rolls into Cardiff for a game the Springboks are expected to win easily. Even though head coach Rassie Erasmus has made several changes from the team that saw off England last time out, the starting line-up still has a combined 638 caps, while the bench total of 325 is just nine short of Wales’ entire matchday 23. It is difficult to see an area of the game where Wales can establish parity, let alone dominance, and South Africa’s record victory in the Welsh capital of 52-16 could come under serious threat. It is easy to be pessimistic, given Wales’ current plight, but reality points to South Africa cutting loose.

Six Nations offers little respite

With Wales expected to end the year reeling from 12 successive Test defeats, attention will quickly turn to the Six Nations, which they begin against France in Paris on January 31. It is the toughest of openers, then Wales head to Rome eight days later for an appointment with Italy that is already being billed in some quarters as a wooden spoon decider. Heavyweights Ireland and England will make the journey to Cardiff, either side of a Murrayfield clash against Scotland, where Wales lost 35-7 on their last visit in 2023. The losing run has to end some time, somewhere, but pinpointing an exact date and location is far from straightforward.