Warren Gatland has faced calls to quit after Wales suffered an “embarrassing” defeat to Fiji in Cardiff.
The 61-year-old Kiwi, who led Wales to three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals during his first stint at the Principality Stadium, appeared frustrated as his sluggish side let slip a 11-point lead to lose 24-19.
Defeat marks a joint record-breaking 10 match losing streak for Wales, with Fiji claiming their first victory on Welsh soil.
The Flying Fijians have only tasted victory against Wales once before, knocking Gareth Jenkins side out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup with a thrilling 38-34 victory in Nantes.
Warren Gatland faces calls to quit as Wales suffer record-breaking losing streak after Fiji thumping
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Despite being thumped by 40-points by Scotland last week, a mercurial performance by fly-half Caleb Muntz turned the game in Cardiff on its head after debutant Blair Murray handed Wales an early lead against the Pacific Islanders.
Josua Tuisova’s try in the 60th minute and a few penalties from the boot of Muntz proved enough for Fiji to see off a late riposte led by 24-year-old Cardiff scrum-half Ellis Bevan.
The game included a number of cards, with Tommy Reffell and Elia Canakaivata heading to the sin bin.
Man mountain Semi Radadra had his yellow card upgraded to a red following a review of his hit on Welsh full-back Cam Winnett.
Keiron Assiratti of Wales looks dejected after defeat to Fiji during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match between Wales and Fiji at the Principality Stadium
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Just minutes after the final whistle was blown, Welsh fans fumed about the “shocking” performance on social media.
One said: “Gatland ball is dead. We need flair, we need tenacity, we need guidance. The WRU is in such a state but you would think the passion for wales would mean we at least fight on the field. Instead Wales have their bellies tickled like a happy puppy.”
Another wrote: “With a bit of luck that’ll be the end of Gatland’s tenure and while you’re at it Walker and Tierney can go too.”
A third devastated fan complained: “I used to defend Gatland a lot during his previous time in charge of Wales. I respected him and felt he got unfair criticism. But he’s just not the right person to be the Head Coach anymore. The game has moved on, we need a coach capable of modernising our play.”
However, not all fans blamed Gatland after the Kiwi returned to Cardiff to make amends for Wayne Pivac’s rough stint as Wales head coach.
Fiji’s Jiuta Wainiqolo celebrates their side’s win after the Autumn international match at Principality Stadium
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“Can’t blame Gatland for the players not being able to catch a simple pass or being able to keep the ball in contact,” one said. “But the physicality we lack is frightening, South Africa and Australia will obliterate that Welsh team. As for the Six Nations call it off now!”
Another wrote: “You could sack Gatland and drop every player but nothing will change when the WRU leadership has driven the game into an absolute shambles from grassroots to professional rugby. I feel for the team having to be the face of a terrible union unfit to protect our sport.”
A third said: “Forget about Gatland, the truth is, there literally isn’t a squad of players good enough to compete, long few years ahead.”
Despite receiving more and more criticism from the Welsh rugby faithful, Gatland appeared defiant in his post-match interview with TNT Sports.
He said: “We are disappointed but I still thought there was lots of good stuff about today.
“We talked about what we’re doing in terms of some younger players and they will take a little bit of time.
Warren Gatland won three Grand Slams during his first stint as Head Coach
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“It’s our first game in the autumn and you fix a number of those things up and you get a different result the following week.
“We said we wanted to win the first two games, we started really well and we could have been 20 points to three up in that first half and that potentially changes it.
“You’ve got to take it on the chin. At the moment the criticism directed at me is probably a little bit easier, it’s not so much on the players, I’m reasonably comfortable with that.
“I’ve got broad enough shoulders to take that, but we will continue to work hard, keep our head down and we’ve got to come back and prove that for next week.”
Welsh skipper Dewi Lake added: “It’s tough to sum it up. We are massively disappointed, we set our stall out in the week that we were coming here to win. That was the message from the coaches but we didn’t do it.
“Credit to Fiji, they were excellent but discipline cost us in key areas.
“Our inaccuracy also cost us. We had a few opportunities in the red zone but we weren’t clinical enough. We made a number of chances in the opening 20 minutes and got a couple of tries, but we left two or three more out there.
“We were four points up at half-time, we felt comfortable, scored a couple of good tries and had one disallowed so we wanted to carry on doing what we were doing.
“But we didn’t build on that and got on the wrong side of the penalty count. We created opportunities but didn’t take them.
“We understand the pressure that is going to come on us now but it’s up to us to deal with that and right the wrongs.”
Wales face Australia and South Africa in the next few weeks hoping to prevent suffering their first winless year since 1937.
Gatland’s side, who thumped Australia 40-6 in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, lost both tests to the Wallabies in their tour Down Under in the summer.
Despite suffering a tough set of results in 2024, Australia claimed a major scalp yesterday with a stunning last-minute 42-37 win against England.
Wales were also battered by South Africa 41-13 at Twickenham in June, with their last victory against the Springboks coming in a one-point win in Bloemfontein under Pivac in 2022.
Wales players celebrate winning the Grand Slam in 2019
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South Africa go into the Autumn Tests as 2024 Rugby Championship winners just 12-months after becoming back-to-back Webb Ellis cup holders.
Wales last tasted victory against international opposition against Georgia after Gatland’s side ran in six tries against the Lelos to top Pool C in the last Rugby World Cup.
Following quarter-final heartbreak against Argentina, Wales lost narrowly to Scotland and England, before being thumped by Ireland and France.
Italy’s 24-21 victory in Cardiff rubbed salt into Welsh wounds, with regional sides also struggling to get out of first gear.
Wales last suffered a 10-match losing streak in 2002 and 2003 under fellow Kiwi Steve Hansen.
Due to his imperious first stint at the Principality Stadium, some Welsh fans overlook the Gatland-era eight-match losing streak suffered after the 2012 Grand Slam.
Wales lost three tests against Australia, hosted a humiliating four-match Autumn Test series and suffered defeat to Ireland on the opening weekend of the 2013 Six Nations.
However, under the interim leadership of current attack coach Rob Howley, Wales were remarkably able to retain the Six Nations with wins against France, Italy and Scotland, followed by a 30-3 battering of England.
Caleb Muntz powers over for a spectacular try
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Despite Wales’ current woes, Fijian player of the match Muntz was proud of the fightback shown after the Pacific Islanders were thumped by Scotland last week.
He said: “This means a lot. We came on this November tour up against some quality sides and last week (at Scotland) inflicted some real wounds.
“We knew we had never won here (in Cardiff) before and after the loss at the World Cup last year, this win means a lot to everyone.
“We wanted to get a good start but I guess we did the same again with the cards. But we trusted in our defence and knew that if we kept the ball in attack, we could open some chinks in the armour and score points.
“We made a few wrong decisions but to hold out with that last lineout was brilliant from the boys.”
Fiji leave Cardiff with a match against up-and-coming Spain before taking on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on November 23.