For the first time since 1937, Wales went a whole calendar year without winning a Test, and many will feel that Gatland’s job is now hanging by a thread.
South Africa were not at their best, but the sad truth for Wales is that they did not have to be.
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.
Whether Gatland, who has now lost 18 of 24 Tests since returning for a second stint as head coach, remains in charge for a daunting Six Nations opener against France in Paris on 31 January must be a subject of huge debate.
Whatever happens, though, Wales are at the lowest point in their 143-year international rugby history, and there appears no respite any time soon.
この記事は The Independent の November 24, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の November 24, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
England's extreme selection adds to changing Test tides
You may have missed it, but Test cricket is really fun at the moment.
Return to Galacticos model changes Real for the worse
Florentino Perez may have been keen to grandstand at Real Madrid’s general assembly on Sunday, but some of his stars have been more concerned with just standing still. Almost literally.
City squander three-goal lead as team self-destructs
At least it was not a sixth successive defeat.
ACCLAIMING NORA
As the reality of another four years of Trump begins to set in, Robert McCrum suggests Nora Ephron’s comforting world of witty prose and whirlwind romances can help us through
Disabled people are terrified of Starmer's welfare reforms
“People are just frightened. There is no sense that the state in Britain is going to support us if we get into trouble. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Trump will change his tune on tariffs once in power
According to Donald Trump, the most beautiful word in the dictionary” is tariff”.
We can't separate God from the assisted dying argument
As Friday’s Commons vote on assisted dying draws closer, the debate surrounding it, which has so far focused on issues about the terminally ill, pain, personal autonomy, the ethics of killing, and care, seems to have moved from respectful dialogue to becoming more fraught and personal.
Five rescued 24 hours after yacht capsized in Red Sea
Search continues for seven people, including two Britons
Pakistan authorities launch operation to clear Islamabad
Move follows clashes in the capital between police and supporters of Imran Khan which have left six people dead
World's oldest man dies at 112, 'surrounded by love'
John Tinniswood was born in 1912, the year the Titanic sank
