Warren Gatland has named his team to face Fiji as Wales go in search of a first Test win in 2024.

Here’s everything he had to say…

What has Blair Murray done to earn his first cap?

“I think he’s been playing well for the Scarlets. He hasn’t had a lot of games. Coming through the New Zealand system in terms of their pathway, we were pretty excited when he decided to commit to Wales. What he does give us that we haven’t had in a while is a left-footed option, playing on that left wing.

“We haven’t had that in a while so it allows us to mix it up a bit. Been pleased with the way he’s been playing, his footwork and he’s been scoring some nice tries. He gets touches and defends exceptionally well for not the biggest person in the world too.”

What is he like as a character?

“We’ve been talking to our wingers about getting touches, go looking on the ball. We’re comfortable about both wingers ending up on the same side of the field. That’s been the message to them. Particularly for someone on his first cap, it’s just not talking too much about it and enjoying the experience. Someone said today he’s had 29 requests for tickets so he’s got family and friends coming to support him. It’s always great to see that, particularly someone on his first cap.”

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Are his mum and dad coming from New Zealand?

“I think so. I haven’t spoken to him. I think they’re coming which is great. Hopefully it’s a great occasion for him.”

With Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe back at half-back, does that offer you more control?

“That’s been the thing that’s excited me. We’ve invested in youngsters and seen a huge amount of growth in them over the last 12 months, particularly after the summer tour. But then having Tomos and Gareth back with that experience, plus Will Rowlands, Jac Morgan and Adam Beard who all weren’t in Australia back, there’s a nice balance there.

“Then you start thinking about the Six Nations where Daf Jenkins, Taulupe Faletau and Josh Adams would be available, with some of those youngsters coming on, we’d start getting a nice mix with those players we’ve been developing.”

What are you expecting from Max Llewellyn?

“I’ve been pleased with the way that he’s played. He’s had a couple of games on the wing. I spoke to him about that. He said he found it a bit different from centre, particularly that first game. He was better on the wing in the second game. We felt he’s been playing well at centre for Gloucester. He’s running good lines and scoring tries.

“He gives us that size and physicality in terms of that go-forward that we’ve got with Mason (Grady) on the wing. I like the balance that we can get on front foot, win some collisions and create some front-foot ball. But we’ve also got players in that midfield who are able to get the ball through the hands and create some space too.”

What’s the messages to the group ahead of this autumn?

“We’re all aware of where we are. We’ve spoken internally about how important these first two games are. All I can say, from the first week, the way the players have trained and applied themselves has been excellent. We had everyone in for the first three days. It was a bit disjointed on Friday and Saturday without the English-based players.

“Then we’ve had players in this week and have been pleased with the whole attitude. The players are well aware of how important the next few weeks are and building some confidence on what we’ve done as a group, with that experience coming back in. I’ve been pleased with how everyone has fitted in.”

Have you changed your approach?

“Probably, with some of the youngsters, it’s just giving them that time to develop. You can’t put so much pressure on them. They need some time. When you’ve got a more experienced team, you can be comfortable with criticism in terms of the expectations. It’s just making sure you don’t knock the confidence of youngsters. You’re trying to build them up and give them that confidence.

“You know it’ll take a bit of time. The message is if we stop being critical, it probably means we’ve stopped caring. It’s about wanting to continually improve players within the group. We understand with the youngsters, they need a bit of time. Saying that, we’ve been open within the group about how important these first games are and then going and having a crack at South Africa after two good performances.”

How good is it to have Archie Griffin starting?

“He had a bit of a health scare. We see him definitely as a player for the future. He’s a big man, he’s mobile and gets around the place. We just want to see him playing a bit more club rugby. He’s definitely one for the future. We’re invested in him. We just need to keep working with him over the next few years.”

What’s the thinking behind a six-two split?

“The thinking about that is we’ve had a few players in the squad… Jac Morgan hasn’t played a lot. He didn’t train last week (after a problem with his side). He’s back in full training this week. Adam Beard and Gareth Thomas have been managed a little bit.

“Even though they’ve played, they haven’t been doing a lot of training at the Ospreys as they’ve been managed through niggles and injuries. Archie hasn’t played a lot of rugby either. We just felt that making sure we were covered in the forwards was pretty important.”

When does this losing run becomes something of a bind for you and the squad?

“Every loss is a bind. The bind is the pressure you guys put on, not the pressure we have internally. We’re comfortable with decisions we’ve made or I’ve pushed as head coach, decisions that are the best for Welsh rugby in terms of bringing this group of players forward and developing the youngsters that we’ve spoken about. The bind and pressure is more external.

“But, for me, I relish those challenges in terms of the pressure. We honestly believe we’ve made the right decisions in terms of the group for Wales and the future. There’s no difference to the pressure you face in every game in international rugby. I’ve often said in the past there’s no in between the ecstasy or agony. Hopefully, on Sunday, there’s ecstasy rather than agony.”

What are you expecting from Fiji?

“You can’t take Murrayfield into it because they were missing 11 players. If we were playing last week, we would have been in the same situation with 11 players unavailable to us too. That’s the challenge with autumn campaigns, you have limited preparation. Probably the easiest thing for them is they have a number of players coming from France so that helps a bit. They have that continuity from the Nations Cup, having won that and done well. Potentially they’ve had a lot more time together as a squad.

“It’s the hardest thing when you go into the autumn series. You’ve got a couple of weeks of preparation, maybe seven or eight sessions if you’re lucky. It’s the same with the Six Nations or the summer. You’ve got to get up to speed as quickly as you possibly can. You have to look at it from a coaching perspective about what things you cover, because you can’t possibly cover everything in that time.”