Warren Gatland will celebrate a dramatic second coming as Wales manager this week, helped by the strong testimony of his longtime right-hand man Sean Edwards.
“Warren will immediately have the respect of the players and also a little bit of fear, which is good,” Edwards said. I after Gatland was brought back with a deal that could run until 2027. “It’s like in football: when Alex Ferguson walks into a room, you suddenly pay more attention to him than to someone you’ve never heard of.”
Gatland replaces Kiwi Wayne Pivak, who has not survived Wales’ home defeats to Italy and Georgia this year despite winning the Six Nations in 2021, taking over from Gatland after the 2019 World Cup.
Any chance of Gatland being hired by England to replace Eddie Jones will be gone when the Australian parts company merges with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) this week.
Jones was scheduled to meet with the RFU panel on Monday to evaluate a disappointing autumn series, with Twickenham’s result due as early as Tuesday.
Gatland, meanwhile, will fly to Cardiff from New Zealand next week after signing a severance package as director of rugby super team The Chiefs.
Wales are looking forward to a quick resurgence as the World Cup in France is just nine months away and Gatland admitted he had a hard time resisting the challenge.
„Am Ende des Tages weiß ich, dass es ein anstrengender Job mit vielen Erwartungen ist, aber die Begeisterung für internationales Rugby, die Teilnahme an der Sechs-Nationen-Weltmeisterschaft – ich denke, das waren die Hauptfaktoren, die mich dazu veranlassten, dorthin zurückzukehren Come on.”
“I loved my time in Wales, I loved the people, the commitment and the way I was received.”
Gatland, 59, led Wales to fourth place at the 2019 and 2011 World Cups and won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams in his 11 years as head of the Red Dragons since 2008.
Gatland admitted he was risking his legacy as a Welsh manager after he decided to return. “Of course, but this is the most exciting part. I have no illusions about expectations, but I have always loved challenges.
“I have always enjoyed visiting places with their expectations and hopefully exceeding expectations.”
Edwards was Welsh Defensive Manager during Gatland’s Welsh tenure and also worked with him at Wasps, but ruled out a reunion having just extended his contract with France by four years.
“I’m locked up in France,” Edwards said. “Three years ago they gave me a lot of trust, and I want to repay them in the same way.
“The person Warren wants back more than anyone is Rob Hawley. They have a very close relationship. It doesn’t have to be an offensive coach because they already have a very good offensive coach in Stephen Jones. But Rob served his time after a mistake [receiving a WRU suspension for making bets]and he is a great coach and a very good organizer.”
Steve Tandy, a Scottish defensive coach from Wales, worked with Gatland on last year’s British & Irish Lions tour, as did former Welsh striker Robin McBride.
Wales are ninth in the world, having won just 13 games out of 34.
Wales’ previous experience of changing coaches at World Cups is small: Ron Waldron in 1991, Alex Evans in 1995, Graham Henry in 1999, Steve Hansen in 2003 and Gareth Jenkins in 2007, all after less than pool, or eliminated in the quarterfinals. semi-final. than two years of service.
Gatland has had its ups and downs with Wales and has regularly lost to the big guns of the Southern Hemisphere amid a 56 percent win rate in its 126 Tests. Previously, his Ireland team was knocked out by Argentina at the 1999 World Cup.
But he could rightly say he’s a major tournament beast, taking Wales to the semi-finals of three World Cups in 2011, where they lost to France by a point, in the 2015 quarter-finals, losing to South Africa after beating England and the 2019 semi-finals. , lost to eventual champions South Africa by three points.
Now he must decide whether to continue with veteran Alan Wyn Jones while having great young players like winger Louis Rees-Zammit.
Edwards also predicted that the profile of Welsh rugby would now rise.
“In any sport, in any business, you need big names to sell a product,” he said. “Warren is one of the best coaches in the northern hemisphere. He goes beyond sports, people know him.
“I was surprised Wales let him go at all. We just won 14 games and won the Grand Slam in 2019. And he lost his job.
Gatland’s first game will take place at home against Ireland in the Six Nations on 4 February. In the final on March 18, he will face Edwards and Frans. “In international rugby, you always want to play against the best,” said Edwards. Warren is safe.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.