Warren Gatland started having doubts about his decision to return to coaching Wales within weeks of his appointment.
When Wales fired Wayne Pivac, Gatland didn’t need much convincing to return to Wales in December 2022, eight months before the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
To have the chance to compete in the 2023 and 2027 Rugby World Cups and every Six Nations in between, return to Principality Stadium where his name adorns the main gate, was an unexpected blessing for Gatland.
That is until he left his New Zealand home base and landed in Cardiff.
He walked into a sexism scandal within the Welsh Rugby Union; the chief executive who hired him resigned a month later; and the players threatened to strike before the 2023 Six Nations over contracts.
“At the time if I had known, I would have made a different decision and probably gone somewhere else,” Gatland said a few months later.
He’s going home for good after he and the WRU agreed to part ways on Tuesday, ending his second stint as the coach after 14 months and 2 1/2 years early.
“Now is the right time for a change,” Gatland said in a WRU statement.
Couldn’t stop the losing
He was done in by an inability to end a losing streak that has reached a national-record 14 tests since 2023. The team’s performance was also getting worse not better. As Wales floundered against Italy in the rain in Rome on Saturday, Gatland looked like a coach who no longer had the fire and ideas to initiate a turnaround.
Still, resigning before he was fired was a mild surprise only because of its timing in the middle of the Six Nations. Wales still has to host Ireland, go to Scotland and host England in the next month. They are expected to be loss Nos. 15, 16, and 17.
“There was a mounting sense that it wasn’t working and something had to be different,” WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said.
“Up until now, Warren had always felt that he was the right person to make that change and take the team forward. He no longer felt that. It was important for the team, the management team and the Welsh public that we made the change even though, ideally, we didn’t want to make it in the middle of the tournament. It’s still the right decision.”
Wales’ problems go deep
While Wales’ longest-serving coach appeared to run out of ideas, it’s also felt he fell into a rut not of his making, stemming from poor decisions by the WRU from more than a decade ago.
The national academy that produced the likes of Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Warburton was closed in 2013 to save money. The regional academies have withered under more cost-cutting and the effect has dried up the pipeline of talent. A day after the men’s side lost to France 43-0, the Wales Under-20s lost to their French counterparts 63-19.
“(Welsh rugby is) at a low ebb and we’ve got to turn it around,” Tierney said. “It’s the same systemic problems that have been around for a long, long time.
“To make the game sustainable for the long term … it’s really hard to do that quickly. I realize people are impatient and they want to see quick change but that is difficult.”
The ongoing struggles of the regional sides, restricted by declining funds, and relentless infighting within the WRU were papered over for years by the success of Gatland’s Wales.
They claimed three Six Nations Grand Slams — the fourth title was won by interim coach Rob Howley while Gatland was with the 2013 Lions — two World Cup semifinals and the world No. 1 ranking briefly in 2019.
A 56% win rate in his first tenure from 2008-19 helped Gatland also become a three-time coach of the British and Irish Lions, where he cemented his standing as one of the world’s best.
But as Wales’ latest golden generation began to fade or retire, giving one last hurrah to reach the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals in France, the paucity of talent within Wales was exposed.
Pivac debuted more than 30 players, including current co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake. Gatland debuted more than 20 to try and unearth more international-caliber talent.
In the current Six Nations squad, 19 of the 35 players started with single-figure caps.
The lack of street smarts has meant a lack of accuracy, naïve play, points conceded too easily, and tough lessons.
Wales failed to win all 11 tests last year, the first time that happened in a calendar year since 1937.
Director of rugby Nigel Walker was fired in December and Gatland was given a stay of execution because of who he was, but he was warned the team had to play better.
The former All Black hooker who has been an international coach since 1998 took it, as usual, pragmatically. He’d already offered to resign a year ago after Wales’ first Six Nations whitewash in 21 years.
Sherratt taking over
When the ongoing Six Nations opened with the 43-0 loss in Paris, Wales was nilled in the tournament for the first time in 27 years. Then last Saturday it lost consecutive matches to Italy for the first time. That eighth straight loss in the tournament is another unwanted Wales record in the Six Nations era.
That’s what Matt Sherratt walks into as the coach for the remainder of the Six Nations.
The coach of Cardiff Blues helped Wales in 2017 while Gatland was on duty with the Lions.
“We want to help the players rebuild their confidence and mindset,” Tierney said. “There is no magic bullet — this is a really young team and they’re playing their hearts out.
“Matt Sherratt isn’t going to change that around in three games, but if we can see some hope and ambition then that will be a step in the right direction.”
Sherratt said he was offered the Wales job on Monday night. He’ll meet the team next Monday, after coaching Cardiff this week.
“It’s pretty well publicised that Cardiff were on a bit of a low when I came in and I said to Abi that I think the first thing to start with (Wales) is mindset,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult to change a huge amount technically and tactically in what will probably only be three or four sessions before we play Ireland.”
Gatland will be watching from home, his second stint ending with only six wins in 26 matches.
“We have to thank Warren a huge amount,” Tierney said. “In our conversation I said to him one of the main reasons I took this job was to work with him. He’s an inspirational coach and one of the best coaches in the world.
“I really hope that he’s remembered for the Grand Slams and championships he won. They should be his legacy.”
The WRU said its intention was to have a permanent appointment in place before the two-test tour to Japan in June.
___
AP Sports Writer Steve Douglas contributed.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Foster Niumata, The Associated Press
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