Gatland is worried at sack race
GATLAND: Leaves Wales next year WARREN GATLAND fears rugby is heading down football’s route as top clubs hire and fire head coaches in their quest for success.
Gatland has no need to worry about the sack as Wales boss after bringing up 100 games in charge of his adopted country in last Saturday’s Six Nations defeat by Ireland.
Football’s Premier League has become notorious for its clubs switching managers at will. Gatland admits rugby has not hit those extremes yet but is concerned about what is to come.
“There is definitely an element of football coming into it,” said Gatland. “It’s nowhere near as bad – Crystal Palace made a change after four games in the Premier League. The longevity of a coach there is pretty limited. It’s 12 months if you’re lucky, maybe longer. And rugby is going down the same road now.”
Eight top-flight football clubs have changed manager this season in a trend that shows no sign of ending.
Palace summed up the ruthless nature of the Premier League by giving Frank de Boer the boot in September after just four league games.
In rugby, Northampton supremo Jim Mallinder was sacked this season after 10 years in charge. Steve Tandy and Les Kiss have also lost their jobs at Ospreys and Ulster respectively in the Guinness PRO14. On the international stage, Allister Coetzee and Guy Noves have been handed P45s by South Africa and France.
“There are a lot of teams looking for coaches for next year,” said Gatland. “There are seven or eight clubs or international teams looking right now. I’ve got no doubt, maybe it won’t be to the same extent, but that there could be a merry-go-round of coaches in rugby as there is in football.”
Gatland will have been in charge for 12 years when he leaves Wales after next year’s World Cup. “I’ve had an advantage in that I’ve had two sabbaticals with the Lions, but rugby has changed massively and that’s what keeps the interest,” he said.
There’s an element of football to it now