Wales’ 10th straight defeat gives the sense that things are beginning to unravel as Jamie Roberts SLAMS ‘worst ever’ team and former players call for Warren Gatland to leave

Amid the accusations of the tenth successive Wales Test defeat, the blaming of the media and a downright farcical substitution mess, one quote stood out.

It came from decorated former Wales and British & Irish Lions center Jamie Roberts, who had a long and successful playing career under the country’s current coach, Warren Gatland.

“It’s the worst Wales ever in the professional era,” Roberts told S4C, using the kind of direct approach he used on the pitch as a powerhouse.

‘He (Gatland) says they are growing as a group, but I honestly don’t agree with that. I understand the spin Warren wants to put on it. I’m sorry, I don’t think Wales has made any progress.’

Roberts’ comments are of great importance, not only because of the strong views, but also because he is now an independent non-executive director on the board of the Welsh Rugby Union.

His role means that he is fully entitled to his opinion. His voicing an opinion on the state of Welsh rugby is not a conflict of interest with his WRU position.

So Roberts should be commended for his honesty. However, one wonders whether his views are shared elsewhere in Welsh rugby’s powerhouses. If so, it could spell serious trouble for Gatland and his coaching staff.

Wales’ autumn opener with Fiji was a must-win. The Wales national team clearly knew it and that’s why after a 24-19 defeat you got the feeling things were starting to unravel. A streak of ten consecutive losses is the worst in the country’s history. Gatland said afterwards that it was the media who controlled the narrative that his position was under threat.

However, any coach at the sport’s highest level will come under pressure when his team is on such a winless run. That must be accepted.

“It’s clear that the way things currently stand with Welsh rugby and with this Welsh team, it can’t continue like this,” columnist Dan Biggar told TNT Sports.

‘There can’t be 11,12,13 defeats on a spin without serious questions being asked. It’s clearly a very tough day for Welsh rugby.

“Warren has been around the game long enough to know that if he’s the main man, he can take all the credit when things go well – which is what they did before.

‘It’s clear that if you’re the boss and things aren’t going so well, the questions come to him first. There are big questions to be answered. At the moment, this Wales team has made losing a habit.”

Another former Wales international who played under Gatland in Mike Phillips was also critical on social media. Sam Davies, the former fly-half, suggested it was time to leave Gatland. The previous WRU regime decided to remove former coach Wayne Pivac from his position after home defeats to Georgia and Italy were deemed unacceptable.

In Wales’ last two matches in Cardiff they were defeated by Fiji and Italy. Since Gatland returned to replace Pivac at the end of 2022, he has won just six of 22 games.

The success rate is 27 percent. A penny for Pivac’s thoughts. It is therefore no surprise that Gatland faces difficult questions.

Those were only exacerbated when he revealed after Fiji that Wales had substituted the wrong player after wing Mason Grady suffered an ankle injury, which he understands is likely to rule him out of the rest of November’s series.

Crucially, Mail Sport also understands that scrum-half Tomos Williams faces a race to get fit for Sunday’s match with Australia due to a shoulder problem, although it is hoped he will recover.

Williams was treated against Fiji but played on because he is a crucial figure for Gatland. Williams’ fitness would not have improved if he was swept away by the giant Josua Tuisova. Against Fiji, Wales had six forwards and two backs on the bench.

Gatland said that when Grady was forced to leave, the plan was for scrum-half Ellis Bevan to come on. Instead, Sam Costelow – a fly-half – took the field.

Gatland admitted there was a serious mix-up, which raises further questions for his support team, in particular team manager Martyn Williams, as substitutions are his responsibility.

‘It’s a gamble if you go for that 6:2 split and unfortunately we had an injury to Mason early on. We probably couldn’t have made it harder,” said fly-half Gareth Anscombe.

“That’s something the coaches have looked at. The changes there made a big difference. Sam, who wasn’t a big-name winger, did his best, but it probably hurt us a little bit.”

Gatland’s decision to go 6:2 certainly had merit and logic. But in retrospect – which is of course always 20:20 – he should have made sure he had three covers on the bench again.

Tom Rogers would have been an option in place of Costelow as Ben Thomas, who started at centre, could have provided 10 cover for Anscombe. However, it is now too late.

That said, the substitute inquiry is likely to remain a talking point this week ahead of Wales’ match with a reborn Australia, who will be top of the world after their thrilling win over England. “There are some positives but ultimately the loss is bitterly disappointing and we will have to improve next week,” Anscombe said.

Wales’ attack, led by Anscombe, went well in the first quarter. Gatland does have talented players who are good young men and never give up.

The hard truth, however, is that results must improve. But it is difficult to predict where Wales’ next victory will come from. “This has to hurt and it has to hurt,” Anscombe said.

‘I know we’ve lost ten times in a row now. We have to find a way to get across the border. It must come. I still think our best performance is good enough to beat Australia next week.”