Rob Howley has emerged as a shock contender to join Warren Gatland as part of Wales’ Rugby World Cup coaching ticket should they decide to get rid of Wayne Pivac.
A sub-committee of the main Welsh Rugby Union board met last week to discuss potential options to succeed Pivac after the New Zealander finished the year with a shocking three wins from 12 test matches. And WalesOnline understands Howley’s name was discussed as an option to join Gatland as part of a revamped coaching set up which they hope can help Wales be competitive in France next autumn.
Nothing is certain, and there were numerous other options discussed in the meeting, but it is no secret Gatland is an admirer of the former Wales scrum-half who was his attack coach between 2008 and 2019, the last time the Kiwi was at the helm. Should Howley be brought back into the fold it would undoubtedly cause controversy after he was sent home from the 2019 World Cup and banned for 18 months for breaching betting rules.
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The 52-year-old is currently Canada’s assistant coach and has been out of top-class rugby for three years. But during his tenure as Wales attack coach, he helped engineer three Six Nations Grand Slams and a World Cup semi-final appearance.
He also led Wales to the Six Nations title in 2013 as caretaker head coach and presided over the famous 30-3 victory over England which clinched the championship. But, first things first, Wales need to decide whether they want to part ways with Pivac who is contracted until the conclusion of the World Cup.
One potential complication is Pivac’s back-room team, with a new head coach very likely to want to bring his own staff at significant extra cost to the WRU.
WRU CEO Steve Phillips announced yesterday he will be undertaking a review into Wales’ underwhelming autumn campaign, but it is very likely he will decide to move on from Pivac with Gatland his preferred choice as a replacement.
Scott Robertson, Steve Tandy, Steve Borthwick, Ronan O’Gara, and Pat Lam are other names who have been mentioned. Whether the WRU see fit to approach Howley remains to be seen but one thing which is certain is that his significant achievements as a coach prior to his ban have not been forgotten with one source claiming it would be a shock if he didn’t end up in a top job in the near future.
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