Gatland admits lifting Wales out of quagmire is challenging

ROME : Wales coach Warren Gatland admitted trying to turn around Wales’ dire fortunes was proving challenging and he was questioning his ability to do so as their Six Nations defeat in Italy on Saturday plunged the team into further crisis.

They dropped down to 12th in the world rankings and saw their record run of successive losses extended to 14 as they lost 22-15 in their second game of this year’s tournament after last week’s 43-0 loss to France.

Wales outscored Italy 2-1 in tries but were largely outplayed by their hosts at the Stadio Olimpico.

Tommaso Allan kicked over five penalties as Wales paid the price for an error-ridden performance.

Gatland, who had been at the helm of previous Welsh dominance in the Six Nations, is now overseeing the worst spell in the team’s history.

"There’s no doubt it’s challenging," he told the post-match press conference. "You do question yourself. The players are working incredibly hard but when you’re under pressure, your decision-making goes. You feel the pressure as a team that hasn’t won for a while.

"That’s the same when we’ve been in winning steaks. You can see the composure of the team. That’s where we are at the moment. We need the bounce of the ball."

He said the mood in the squad was low: "The players, coaches and staff are frustrated. We’re disappointed."

Gatland also put blame for Saturday’s loss on the rain that fell throughout the contest.

"It was never going to be a display of rugby. It was about keeping errors down and we shot ourselves in the foot. We made some wrong calls. Those are part of the learning process.

"The bounce of the ball didn’t go our way. We’re missing some opportunities and we need to make sure we’re more accurate."

Wales are next up against Ireland at home on February 22, where their woes are expected to be heightened.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)