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Coetzee defiant despite Wales loss capping miserable autumn tour

South Africa's Head Coach Allister Coetzee during the 2017 Under Armour Series Autumn International match between Wales and South Africa Photo by Kevin Barnes - CameraSport via Getty Images

South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee is not concerned about his future despite his Springbok team losing 24-22 to Wales to cap a miserable end-of-year tour.

Their campaign started with a 38-3 thumping at the hands of Ireland and only in September Coetzee's team were beaten 57-0 by the All Blacks.

"I am signed for 2019 -- that is what my contract says," Coetzee said.

"The team has really grown and there has been a lot of improvement. The players are hurting at the moment because they feel they let themselves down, and you can only feel like that if you have a good team environment.

"What needs to change? We obviously need to cut out individual errors, which is one massive thing, but this team has grown."

South Africa did manage two wins on their four-game tour. A narrow 18-17 win over France was followed by a more comfortable 35-6 win over Italy, but those results have done little to ease the pressure on Coetzee.

"We have got to give players opportunities to grow and develop. You cannot expect to build Rome in one day. Last year was a fiasco, definitely, so we started from scratch this year," Coetzee said.

Warren Gatland, meanwhile, said he was relieved to emerge from the game victorious, after his side nearly let an 18-point lead slip.

"I suppose there is a bit of relief," Gatland said.

"We started so well and looked comfortable, then the five minutes before half-time and five minutes after half-time weren't the best periods of the game for us.

"It was pretty nail-biting, but that is what Test match rugby is all about, and we came out on the right side of it."