Gatland: Howley exit can galvanise resilient Wales
Warren Gatland has pledged a defiant Wales will refuse to be derailed by Rob Howley’s shock World Cup departure and will thrive again in the wake of yet more off-the-field controversy.
Stephen Jones, who was scheduled to begin work after the tournament in Japan, will arrive tomorrow in Japan as Howley’s replacement as attack coach, with Wales expecting a seamless switch.
The Welsh Rugby Union revealed it was first made aware of Howley’s suspected breach of World Rugby’s betting regulations last Wednesday, from one of the gambling industry’s integrity teams. Gatland yesterday admitted it had sent shock waves through his team ahead of their World Cup opener on Monday with Georgia. Howley, the 48-year-old assistant coach, was sent home from Wales’s World Cup camp on Monday and will be investigated over a suspected breach of World Rugby’s regulation six, which covers anti-corruption and betting.
It is the latest storm in Welsh rugby and follows the abandonment of a proposed merger between two of the country’s regional sides, Ospreys and Scarlets, in March.
Wales brushed that off to win a Six Nations Grand Slam, and Gatland plans to circle the wagons again to get his team back on track.
The New Zealander was forced to deal with Howley’s departure on his 56th birthday on Tuesday and, when asked if the incident had galvanised his players, he responded: “It’s probably a Welsh trait and I’ve seen that in the last 24 hours with how close they’ve been. They know
it’s a difficult period, but we need to respond pretty well. We’ve got to focus and we know there is going to be some speculation in the next 24 hours. We have to deal with that and I have had better birthdays for sure. We were shocked.
“The union are dealing with this and my focus has to be on the next five days in terms of preparing the squad for the first game against Georgia. You have to deal with adversity at times and it’s how you respond to that. I must say the players have been incredibly responsible and resilient. Sometimes things like this bring teams closer.
“It took a bit of time for this to sink in. There was concern from the coaches and the players about Rob’s welfare. We have to let the formal process take its course and hopefully that can continue outside our preparation. At the moment, these are allegations and obviously Rob was devastated by them.” Speaking from Wales’s World Cup base in Kitakyushu, Martyn Phillips, the WRU chief executive, explained: “We were contacted informally on Wednesday of last week to suggest there was a potential breach of regulation six. It came from one of the betting company’s integrity teams.
“We were then contacted formally with further information on Friday evening and at that point we informed World Rugby there was a potential breach and we would be seeking face-to-face time with Rob. We reached the decision on Saturday that we were best placed to come out to Japan.
“That triggered the formal process we’re now in and it will carry on back in Wales. It is a serious allegation about Rob. He’s our employee and we have a duty of care to him.
“Rob is in Wales and we have put the necessary support around him. We’re checking in on his well-being as we formalise our processes to get through the investigation.” The glums: Martyn Phillips (left) and Warren Gatland address the media
Wales flew to Japan last Wednesday, but the WRU insists it did not know of Howley’s alleged regulation six breach before the team’s departure, which came in the early hours of the morning.
Howley was on the plane from Heathrow and was part of Wales’s World Cup preparations in Kitakyushu. He was at Gatland’s team’s open training session, which 15,000 locals watched on Monday, but left Japan before Wales’s official capping and welcome ceremony that evening.
Howley returned to Wales on Tuesday, but is spending time away with his family before the investigation begins. It will be led by WRU chiefs, but Phillips admitted an independent judicial panel is likely to be involved.