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Warren Gatland is expected to vacate the Wales job after next year’s World Cup, so just who is in line to replace him? DELME PARFITT casts his eye over the contenders
FEW are likely to get too excited at the prospect, but it is former Ospreys target, the New Zealander Ian Foster, who has been installed as favourite to be the next Wales coach if, as expected, Warren Gatland leaves the post after the 2011 World Cup.
Bookmakers Victor Chandler have placed Foster, currently in charge of Super 14 franchise Waikato Chiefs, as 3-1 to succeed his fellow countryman and become the fourth Kiwi after Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Gatland, to take charge of our national set-up.
Gatland’s future has been the talking point of the week just gone, after it emerged the Welsh Rugby Union would like him to extend his stay for two years beyond his present deal, which expires after next year’s global showpiece.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbyn...or-wales-after-warren-gatland-91466-26783045/
Ian Foster 3/1
Pros: Hugely regarded in New Zealand as a builder of team ethics and cultures. A proven Super 14 coach whose brief spell with the Ospreys in 2008 appeared to briefly transform them.
Cons: No senior international coaching experience and do Wales really need yet another Kiwi?
Robbie Deans 5/1
Pros: A huge reputation in his New Zealand homeland through multiple successes with the Crusaders and the guy many believe should have been appointed to the All Blacks job after the 2007 World Cup.
Cons: His tenure in charge of Australia has been patchy, their defeat to England recently the latest wobble.
Jake White 5/1
Pros: As a World Cup winner his reputation is set in stone as someone who has been there and achieved it all at the highest level.
Cons: Was indifferent to Wales when his name was in the frame to succeed Gareth Jenkins, making it clear the England job was the one he wanted. Currently out of front-line coaching on the IRB rugby committee.
John Mitchell 9/1
Pros: A wealth of experience having been All Blacks coach at the 2003 World Cup, an assistant in Sir Clive Woodward’s England set-up and done two Super 14 jobs, with the Chiefs and his current employers Western Force.
Cons: Looked out of his depth in his two years in charge of the All Blacks, so is he cut out to be boss of a high profile Test side?
Eddie O’Sullivan 10/1
Pros: Won three Triple Crowns as Ireland’s most successful coach of the modern era. Knows all about the pragmatism needed to succeed in Test rugby and was a Lions assistant in 2005.
Cons: The idea of Wales turning to an Irishman is faintly absurd. O’Sullivan is out of the higher echelon at present in charge of the USA Eagles.
Eddie Jones 11/1
Pros: As well as his achievements in his four-year stint with Australia, Jones is credited with being the brains behind the Boks 2007 World Cup win. He was technical advisor to Jake White.
Cons: Has been operating mainly in advisory roles in recent years, with Saracens and at club level in Japan.
Frans Ludeke 12/1
Pros: Clearly a man at the top of his game having achieved so much with the Bulls Super 14 team in the last three years, a team which contains so many front-line Bok players.
Cons: For all his obvious talent still a bit of a left-field contender with no experience of the northern hemisphere game or the senior international scene.
Dai Young 14/1
Pros: At last, a Welsh contender! Young has had his critics and his lean times with the Blues, but he has claimed two pieces of silverware in as many seasons and made the capital city region a European force.
Cons: Some will say his track record in seven years at Cardiff doesn’t warrant a shot at the Wales job.
Paul Turner 14/1
Pros: Like Young, a Welshman, but he also has a wealth of Guinness Premiership experience and has eked the best out of what has been at his disposal with the Dragons.
Cons: No experience in senior international coaching and some will conclude that Rodney Parade is no preparation for the big time.
Michael Cheika 14/1
Pros: Steered Leinster to Heineken Cup glory last year and is known as a hard-nosed uncompromising customer â€" perhaps just what the Wales players need.
Cons: Needs to go elsewhere, such as his new employers Stade Francais, to truly prove he has what it takes.
Wayne Smith 14/1
Pros: Has led the All Blacks, won two Super 12 ***les with the Crusaders and had a spell in charge of Northampton. The 53 year old is vastly experienced.
Cons: Only lasted two years in the New Zealand hot-seat after taking over from John Hart in 1999.
Phil Davies 25/1
Pros: Like Young and Turner, his nationality is in his favour. Widely respected for building up Leeds and took the Scarlets to the Heineken Cup semi-final in 2007.
Cons: Has failed to inspire in charge of Wales Under-20s after losing his way and being sacked by the Scarlets.
Nick Mallet 25/1
Pros: Led his native South Africa on a record Test-winning sequence of 17 matches between August 1997 and December 1998. Now experiencing Six Nations with Italy.
Cons: Has failed to significantly advance the Azzurri and little to suggest he is now the right man for Wales.
Steve Hansen 33/1
Pros: Knows all about what it takes having done it before. The man credited with laying the foundations of the 2005 Grand Slam.
Cons: Results record last time was poor and has had his sticky moments with Henry and the All Blacks. Why go back to Hansen anyway?
Rob Howley 40/1
Pros: Knows the system and the Welsh game inside out and his meticulous methods have the respect of the players.
Cons: He was fast-tracked into Gatland’s back-room team in the first place and the assumption is that he is not ready yet for the big job.
Graham Henry 40/1
Pros: Renowned as one of the master tacticians of the world game. There isn’t much he hasn’t seen or done.
Cons: We’ve been here before. Henry couldn’t get the best out of Welsh players last time so why should we think he would ever fancy another crack?
Shaun Edwards 50/1
Pros: Would have little to learn about the Welsh set up and has accumulated wide experience with Wasps and the Lions.
Cons: Is seen primarily as a defence expert and the idea of him taking the chief Wales role after Gatland has never really been mooted. Looks like he has lost his way of late anyway.
Mike Ruddock 66/1
Pros: Still viewed as a hero by many Welsh fans for 2005 and commands respect from a wide cross-section of the game.
Cons: Too much baggage remains from the controversy of his departure last time. His failure to do better at Worcester also counts against him.
