Warren Gatland ‘still the best coach in the world’

Rob Howley still believes Warren Gatland is “the best coach in the world” and is backing him to pull Wales out of their worst losing run in history.

If the world champions South Africa end their international season with a win in Cardiff on Saturday it will condemn Wales to their 12th defeat in a row and make it their first winless year since 1937.

Although Gatland delivered three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-finals, a record 14-match winning streak and guided Wales to the No1 ranking spot in the world in his first stint in charge, he has won a mere six times in 23 games since returning in 2023.

Saturday’s clash with the Springboks will be his 149th game in charge of Wales, but against the backdrop of the record losing streak he has said he would be willing to step down “if it is in the best interests of Welsh rugby”.

But, while pundits, many of them players during his successful years in charge, and fans are calling for his head, both his trusty lieutenant Howley and Wales captain Dewi Lake remain convinced he is the man to lead the team back to winning ways.

“We’ve got the best coach in the world who has had a legacy of over 13 years. He’s won Grand Slams and there is no better coach to have in your camp than Warren Gatland,” said Howley, who has a 20-year history of working with Gatland as a player at Wasps and coach with both Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

“He gives players the confidence and self-belief they need to go out and play. His legacy with different teams is a winning legacy.

“At the moment, we are in this spell where we are losing and losing and losing. But we know at some point we will win and I hope it will be on Saturday.

“I just feel, at the moment, we’ve got the best coach who has got years of experience. We’ve been in changing rooms where we’ve won and lost, Lions changing rooms going into series at 1-1 with everything on the line.

“Warren understands rugby and I believe that Wales have got the best coach in the world to get us out of this.”

The Welsh Rugby Union enticed Gatland back when it moved on Wayne Pivac after a poor sequence of results. He is signed up until the 2027 World Cup and trying his best to build experience and depth into his young squad for that tournament.

The size of his task is shown in the difference in the number of caps (515-205) in the starting XVs at the Principality Stadium. Also, the Boks have more among their eight replacements (431) than there is in the entire Wales match-day 23 (334).

“His presence alone is huge. We are quite a young group, and were probably massive fans growing up watching his first stint – Grand Slams and undefeated runs,” Wales captain Lake said of Gatland.

“His knowledge and passion for the game resonates with you as a player. Maybe you are feeling a little bit sorry for yourself, or you have had a tough day, and his ability to pick you back up and get you back on the horse ready to go again is second to none.

“He knows what’s going on, he has been around for long enough, he has coached plenty of top-level teams. He knows how to make us tick.”