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Gatland signs Super Rugby deal with Chiefs

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Wellington - Wales coach Warren Gatland has signed a four-year deal with Super Rugby side, the Chiefs, that includes a release in 2021 to handle the British and Irish Lions, New Zealand Rugby announced on Friday.

The former All Blacks hooker has had a stellar coaching career and attracted global interest after announcing he would step down from the Wales post after the World Cup this year.

New Zealand Rugby's head of professional rugby, Chris Lendrum, described the appointment as "a coup for the Chiefs".

The announcement came a day after Colin Cooper quit as Chiefs' coach, with a year still to go on his contract, saying he was leaving for the long-term good of New Zealand Super Rugby.


Gatland has made no secret of his desire to return to the Waikato region where he grew up, and earlier this month ruled himself out of becoming England's head coach, declaring his intention to coach in New Zealand.

"The opportunity to come back as head coach of the Chiefs is something that I am really looking forward to," Gatland said in a statement when the Chiefs' role was confirmed.

"The Chiefs are well known for the success they've had both on and off the field and the really loyal support they have from everyone within the Chiefs region."

Gatland, who played 17 matches for the All Blacks, has been the head coach of Wales since 2007, leading them to four Six Nations ***les including three grand slams.

He also coached the British and Irish Lions to a series win against the Wallabies in 2013 and a drawn series with the All Blacks four years later.

"Warren is a world-class coach who boasts a proven track record," Chiefs boss Michael Collins said.

"With a sound rugby background and his desire to return home to New Zealand and be involved in Super Rugby naturally made him a top choice for the role."

The package includes a release clause allowing Gatland to miss the 2021 season while he takes charge of the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa.

Former All Black Justin Marshall said New Zealand Rugby was making a "massive concession" by signing Gatland up as the Chiefs coach and still allowing him to coach the Lions.

"The New Zealand Rugby Union have not often given too much leniency when it involves helping the rest of the world. And to an extent that's what Warren Gatland will be doing," Marshall told Radio Sport.

"They won't be happy about it, but ... they still see there's more value in having him in New Zealand than not, so they're prepared to let the rope out a little bit. I think that's brilliant."

The Chiefs were the Super Rugby champions in 2012 and 2013 under Dave Rennie, who is now with the Glasgow Warriors, and made the semi-finals in 2016 and 2017. For the past two seasons under Cooper they reached the quarter-finals.

https://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRugby/gatland-signs-super-rugby-deal-with-chiefs-20190628
 
So Gatland is coming home, while also being allowed to coach the B&I Lions in 2021. Man that's a nice deal!
 
Great appointment for the Chiefs, probably got him 'relatively' cheap too due to his wishes to return home.

Would imagine the NZRU have filed this under perfect back up plan, should the next All Black HC have a disappointing first couple of seasons... in case of emergency 'pull this chord'.
 
Done one hell of a job with Wales. He went through a bit of a sticky patch a few years ago when he was looking a little stale, but he's been phenomenal recently. His selection is almost always spot on, he prepares and manages a squad superbly, drip feeding youngsters in perfectly.

The only slight criticism I can think of is that perhaps his gameplan is a little defensive first, and a little more emphasis could be placed on skills and attack. However with different personnel, I think he's perfectly capable of finding the right balance. He's certainly trying to find that balance with Wales ahead of the WC, with the selection of Anscombe ahead of Biggar. Next test will be whether his sticks with Sanjay over Halfpenny.

All of Wales will wish him the very best. Probably the best coach we've ever had.

He probably just needs to prove himself back on SH soil and then the All Blacks gig will be his.
 
The Lions picking a coach that will have been totally foreign to British and Irish rugby for the guts of two years, what a joke!

He'll probably do well at the Chiefs, I hope he doesn't do well enough to get the NZ gig though.
 
He'll probably do well at the Chiefs, I hope he doesn't do well enough to get the NZ gig though.
Doubt he would,
His style is the mirror opposite of how the all blacks play and, despite great success on the European scene, he's shown a complete inability to mix it with the SH sides at international level (and you can't blame the players because those players can beat the English/Irish sides that regularly beat SH sides)
 
If he doesn't learn from his mistakes/missed opportunities to beat the ABs in 2017 and takes Rob Howley as head attack coach again for the next Lions tour then that will say it all for me.
 
Great appointment for the Chiefs, probably got him 'relatively' cheap too due to his wishes to return home.

Would imagine the NZRU have filed this under perfect back up plan, should the next All Black HC have a disappointing first couple of seasons... in case of emergency 'pull this chord'.
Yeah, and/or the plan is he'll coach after the following World Cup. And or maybe we have a policy only to appoint local coaches to the all blacks role and maybe being signed is all you need , so it could be he takes over all blacks role straight away without even coaching the chiefs. It's more likely foster will get two years

As soon as I saw cooper had stood down it was obvious why
 
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Doubt he would,
His style is the mirror opposite of how the all blacks play and, despite great success on the European scene, he's shown a complete inability to mix it with the SH sides at international level (and you can't blame the players because those players can beat the English/Irish sides that regularly beat SH sides)
I think It's highly likely he'll be all blacks coach at some point. He won't be able to coach nz rugby instinct out of the players and will likely have a creative attack coach alongside him.
 
I think It's highly likely he'll be all blacks coach at some point. He won't be able to coach nz rugby instinct out of the players and will likely have a creative attack coach alongside him.

I think Gats is the kinda coach that adapts the play style to the 'cattle' (to use New Zealand lingo). Wales had limited player resources compared to Eng, Ire, Fra, NZ, SA at al so he made the best of it. With New Zealand's riches i'd imagine the game plan would be more elaborate.
 
Demonstrably not true when you look at his time with the Lions and how he coached the attack out of players like Leigh Halfpenny
 
Lions-wise it's different, he gets so little time with them that a simplistic game plan is the most effective use of their time... it's the reason Geechs and BOD was so enamoured by Gats during the last tour to SA (& probably the reason he has HC'd every Lions tour since) it was the perfect antithesis to Sir Clive of Woodward's disastrous regime.

Halfpenny-wise, he was never really a Liam Williams-esque fullback (who is also coached by Gats).
 
God i hope hes not taking howley with him...for the Chiefs sake :D

Top coach from one of the worlds top countries to a great team and he gets to go home, great deal for all involved. And in 4 years he will maybe move to the ABs coach role.
 
Demonstrably not true when you look at his time with the Lions and how he coached the attack out of players like Leigh Halfpenny

Also Sexton and Farrell decided to do their own thing in the third test such was their bemusement and disapproval at Howler's coaching, tactics and instructions. The SOB comments post tour pretty much confirmed this.

There's no denying that Gatland is an elite head coach. Howler is not an elite attack coach and should be nowhere near a Lions tour. If I were Gatland the only one of of his current coaches I would bring to SA is Edwards.
 
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I think Gats is the kinda coach that adapts the play style to the 'cattle' (to use New Zealand lingo). Wales had limited player resources compared to Eng, Ire, Fra, NZ, SA at al so he made the best of it. With New Zealand's riches i'd imagine the game plan would be more elaborate.

He's had the same around the corner framework everywhere he's coached. Which includes Waikato.
 
To be fair to Gats I think he evolved away from this a few years ago. Wales don't play that way anymore that's for sure.

To be fair, it would take him actually getting the All Blacks job and then them winning the World Cup in style for most people to see anything different to their current beliefs... and even that might not be enough.
 
Lions-wise it's different, he gets so little time with them that a simplistic game plan is the most effective use of their time... it's the reason Geechs and BOD was so enamoured by Gats during the last tour to SA (& probably the reason he has HC'd every Lions tour since) it was the perfect antithesis to Sir Clive of Woodward's disastrous regime.

Halfpenny-wise, he was never really a Liam Williams-esque fullback (who is also coached by Gats).
On top of that, if you look at the last lions tour they increased their attack complexity with each game. and he actually let the players dictate the attack, which is exactly what suits nz. it actually suited sexton and Farrell and Davies and Williams too
 
On top of that, if you look at the last lions tour they increased their attack complexity with each game. and he actually let the players dictate the attack, which is exactly what suits nz. it actually suited sexton and Farrell and Davies and Williams too

Yeah I think this is the way top coaches operate these days, they ask the players to identify threats and options... and then propose how to go about exploiting the 'read'. The coach would be there to 'guide' the players should he feel the players have read things incorrectly... as well as other things of course.
 
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