Former Wales winger Ellis Jenkins feels Warren Gatland’s decision to question the lack of winning experience of many involved in the recent independent review of Welsh rugby was “bad”.
After recording 12 successive Test defeats, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has undertaken a post-Autumn Nations Series review in a bid to improve all aspects of the game in the country.
But speaking about the review in his 2025 Six Nations squad announcement, Gatland said: “The questions I ask sometimes, to players who have given comments and things, what has their experience been in a professional winning environment?”
The Wales coach added: “Even in terms of people doing the reviews or being part of the process, those are the questions I asked myself. What is their experience or involvement in high-level professional sporting environments?”
Jenkins, a former Wales back-row, feels Gatland was wrong to question the validity of some of the comments made as part of the review.
“I was really surprised by his answer,” Jenkins told Scrum V: The Warm Up.
“Questioning players and the validity of their reactions just because they have not been involved in a winning international environment is bad in my view.
“If you want to do a review, you don’t have to implement all the comments, but you should at least take them into account.
“Just because they haven’t been involved in a winning campaign, which realistically there aren’t a lot of players in Wales who have been part of a successful international campaign in the last couple of years, doesn’t invalidate their comments.
“The way you phrase it and question the process and the people involved doesn’t sit well with me at all.”