Warren Gatland says that comments he made about Welsh professional rugby’s infrastructure were not a criticism of coaches.
Wales boss Gatland said ahead of last weekend’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Ireland that the Welsh regional game sometimes felt like “a sinking ship” and he was not 100 per cent convinced that a reset of it would happen.
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth responded by claiming that some of Gatland’s comments were “a bit inflammatory”, while Dragons boss Dai Flanagan met Gatland on Wednesday.
Gatland had been asked during a press conference to assess key differences between Irish and Welsh rugby and he said that Ireland “have just got the right structures in place”.
Gatland also urged Wales’ four regional teams – Ospreys, Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons – to focus on improving infrastructure such as facilities, rather than prioritise signing players.
“What I was highlighting was the importance of us, for the next 10 years if we want success and sustainability, having the best facilities and the best support staff, whether that is coaches, medical staff, strength and conditioning,” Gatland told reporters on Thursday, as Wales prepared for next week’s Six Nations appointment with France.
“Probably the difference between us and Ireland at the moment is they have got their systems and structures in place and we’ve got a little bit of a way to go.
“It wasn’t a criticism of coaches. I know how hard they are working in terms of the regions, and how hard they are trying.
“It wasn’t a criticism of them, it is about all of us working together to keep improving the things we’ve got here.
“Probably all of the regions, if they look at their structure and their support staff, they have probably got a couple of holes and things that they are working to hopefully put right for the future.
“I keep saying that the impact of the right environment, the right people and the right facilities will have so much more of an impact for us long-term than one or two players will do in a squad.
“The pleasing thing for me is that it has raised discussion. At least people are talking about it. My concern was if we don’t talk about it and focus on these areas, we will carry on doing what we’ve been doing for years and having the same results.
“I have always tried to be honest. I’ve always tried to give an honest answer or an opinion. It doesn’t always mean I am right.”
Wales will resume their Six Nations campaign against France after successive losses to Scotland, England and Ireland, with Italy following Les Bleus to Cardiff on the tournament’s final weekend.
It is feasible that Wales could end up finishing fifth for a fourth time in the last five seasons, while they last propped up the Six Nations table without a win 21 years ago when Gatland’s fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen was in charge.
“Test match rugby is all about winning, it is all about performing,” Gatland said.
“A couple of close games (Wales lost to Scotland and England by a combined total of three points) where we showed some promise, and then we came up against probably the best team in the world at the moment.
“We’ve got an opportunity in the next couple of games to go out there, keep working hard and improving. Hopefully, the next two games we can come away with wins.”
While Wales have have yet to register a Six Nations victory, France were well beaten at home by title favourites Ireland on the opening day and then held 13-13 by Italy in Lille.
Gatland added: “In fairness to Italy, they stayed in the fight.
“There is no doubt that the red card (for France centre Jonathan Danty) had a significant influence on the game, and then Italy got stronger.
“They (France) are going to come pretty hard at you early on, so you have got to stay in that battle and try and negate that physical dominance of their forwards, the huge size that they have.”
Healy in line to equal Ireland cap record versus Argentina
Cian Healy is set to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland cap record when they face New Zealand in Friday's autumn international in Dublin.
The 37-year-old prop has represented his country on 132 occasions and, after being named on the bench, will equal O'Driscoll's mark if introduced versus the Pumas.
Ireland suffered their first home defeat since 2021 last time out, going down by a 23-13 scoreline against New Zealand.
Despite that loss, head coach Andy Farrell has only made one change to Ireland's starting lineup, bringing Robbie Henshaw in at inside centre in place of Bundee Aki.
Argentina also named their team on Wednesday, with vice-captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Matias Moroni replacing Santiago Grondona, Franco Molina and Matias Orlando.
Ireland team: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.
Argentina team: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth
Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.
England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.
Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia.
Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.
England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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