Warren Gatland urges regions to ‘forget about the players’ to save ‘sinking ship’
Wales head coach Warren Gatland during the 2024 Six Nations.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has described Welsh regional rugby as a “sinking ship” and is “not 100 per cent convinced” that it will undergo the necessary reset required.
Gatland was asked to compare provincial rugby in Ireland with that of Welsh regional rugby and the head coach was highly critical of the current climate.
Wales head to Dublin this weekend as they prepare to face defending Six Nations champions Ireland, who are hot favourites to lift the title once again, while Gatland’s charges are in danger of a first Wooden Spoon in 21 years.
Opportunity for a reset
Irish Rugby have also been thriving off the centrally-contracted player system while Wales‘ four regions are preparing for significant budget cuts ahead of next season.
“I think they (Ireland) have just got the right structures in place,” Gatland said when asked to assess the key difference between Irish and Welsh rugby.
“Probably, if I look at the previous time I was here (between 2008 and 2019), we were kind of papering over the cracks of the things that were happening in Welsh rugby.
“We have got an opportunity for a reset, which, unfortunately, I am not 100 per cent convinced we will have a proper reset within our regions.
“It took a long time (in Ireland), but that has benefited from the performances of their provincial teams, which has transferred into their international team.
“We were probably the other way around. We were the reverse.”
Gatland believes having the correct infrastructure at Wales’ four professional regions – Cardiff, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons – is key.
“I continue to speak about infrastructure, getting the right infrastructure, the right environment, the right (strength and conditioning) coaches, medical staff, quality coaches, training facilities, grounds and stuff.”
Focus on the infrastructure
Gatland has urged the regions to focus on their structures and not the players that they are able to retain or sign in the short term.
“Forget about the players. Get that (infrastructure) right, and then you start building your squad,” he added.
“We have tended to do it the other way around – or a bit of 50/50 – and then it just feels like you are plugging up the holes of a sinking ship.
“The only way we are going to do it as a group is if we work together and we support each other.
“Everyone talks about the finances, and I understand that, but it is (about) making the right decisions.
“The short-term fix is to go and buy two or three players that might plug a couple of holes.
“But if we don’t think about the long-term benefit of the game and the infrastructure we’ve got, we are just going to be behind the eight-ball continuously.
“My advice to all the regions is don’t worry about players. If it means picking young players to your squad, make sure you spend the money on your facilities, make sure you spend the money on the right people within your environment.”
The Wales boss related a comment he says was made by Wales rookie back-rower Alex Mann at a recent dinner with the Welsh team’s sponsors.
“He said ‘I now know what a professional environment is like and what it should be like’,” Gatland added. “That’s what we’ve got to encourage our regions to be like.”
