Six Nations news: Five candidates to replace Warren Gatland as Wales head coach
Warren Gatland resigned as Wales head coach earlier this week, and the appointment of his successor will be a crucial step in improving the beleaguered nation’s rugby future.
Currently on a scarcely believable run of 14 consecutive Test defeats, Welsh rugby finds itself at all-time low and needs someone to bring joy back to a once-proud rugby people.
Although Gatland enjoyed a fruitful first period in charge of Wales between 2007 and 2019, winning four Six Nations titles, his second go-around has sadly been an unmitigated disaster.
Sports News Blitz rugby writer Charlie Elliott looks at five candidates to replace the Kiwi.
Michael Cheika
Leicester Tigers boss Michael Cheika recently announced that he is going to leave his post at the end of the season, making him a potential candidate for the Wales job.
The Australian has been around the block and rarely stays at a team for more than a year or two, but he almost always brings instant success.
And that is exactly what he has done at the Tigers, vastly improving on compatriot Dan McKellar’s disappointing year in charge and implementing a playstyle more suitable to the club.
With Wales’ completely lost after a dismal past few years, having someone like Cheika bring in a discernible identity could prove invaluable.
His international experience with Australia and Argentina also guarantees that Wales would be competitive straight away.
It is, however, being reported that Cheika left the Tigers due to family-related reasons, so he could be ruled out of a move to Wales anyway.
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Stuart Lancaster
Someone who may be a more realistic target is Stuart Lancaster, the former England head coach who has just left Top 14 side Racing 92 following a difficult spell.
Given the present state of Welsh rugby, it might be best to recruit a boss who has been there and done it at the highest level, and Lancaster fits such a bill.
Although his England tenure was somewhat overshadowed by a poor 2015 Rugby World Cup, Lancaster’s time at the helm was positive and laid the foundations for some good years afterwards.
In particular, he was praised for improvements made to both culture and style during his stint, which is exactly what Wales need right now.
Since leaving England on the back of that World Cup, Lancaster has stuck to club rugby, first at Leinster and more recently at Racing 92.
At the latter, he made some slightly questionable selection decisions that included playing his son Dan as the starting fly-half, but Welsh fans need not worry too much as Dan does not seem to have any Welsh in him.
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Franco Smith
South African Franco Smith has gone under the radar at the Glasgow Warriors despite some solid success with the Scottish franchise.
His crowning achievement came last year when the Warriors took home the United Rugby Championship title after beating the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in the final.
Smith also has international coaching experience, having been head coach of Italy between 2019 and 2021, meaning his appointment would likely be met with positivity from Welsh supporters.
Furthermore, Smith likes to play in a way that brings excitement to fans, something which has been sorely lacking at the Principality Stadium for some years now.
Interestingly, the Saffa played for Newport RFC as a player, so he will be quite familiar with both the country and what is expected in a rugby sense.
Plenty of club sides seem to be sniffing around for his services, though, so Wales need to act fast to avoid disappointment here.
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Simon Easterby
Currently the interim head coach at Ireland following Andy Farrell sitting the Six Nations out ahead of a British & Irish Lions tour, it is a case of so far so good for Simon Easterby.
His side looks exactly as they were under Farrell, which is nothing less than a big compliment.
Farrell will obviously retake the hot seat on his return, but it remains to be seen if Easterby will want to revert to being a deputy after getting such a delicious taste of the big time.
If not, a head coach job at Test level is an opportunity he might be interested in.
Easterby, to be fair, did turn down a call-up from Sir Clive Woodward and England as a player in favour of representing Ireland, so his loyalties possibly lie exclusively with the Emerald Isle.
With a Six Nations Championship – and perhaps a Grand Slam – coming down the pipeline at Ireland, the Wales job could also be seen as too much of a step down in all honesty.
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Matt Sherratt
As the current Wales interim head coach – and the first Englishman to serve in the position – Matt Sherratt is essentially being interviewed for the permanent job.
He has only been a senior head coach for the past two years, but the fact that he was a backs and attack coach earlier in his coaching career should bring a lot of joy to fans after Wales’ lacklustre attacking performances of late.
A good motivator, Sherratt is going to need to fire his players up ahead of three tough games against Ireland, Scotland, and England.
Indeed, that record run of 14 straight defeats does not seem likely to end any time soon.
Sherratt’s main messaging so far has been around making the game more enjoyable for the fans regardless of end results, which would be a welcome improvement on the last few years all things considered.
Whether or not good vibes will be enough to get him the job, only time will tell.
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