Wales' Neil Jenkins praises Warren Gatland and stresses the need to retain his services – Rugby News
Former welsh international Rugby Union player and the team's kicking skills coach, Neil Jenkins, has praised Wales national Rugby Union team’s head coach, Warren Gatland, following their semifinal
defeat at the hands of France.
Earlier, Gatland has led his side to the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup tournament for the first time since 1987. However, France defeated Wales 9 – 8 at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday,
October 15.
Praising Gatland’s skills, Jenkins said, “I think he is one of the best, if not the best coach in the world. He is up there with [All Blacks] coach Graham [Henry] as far as I am concerned.”
He stressed on the need that the Welsh Rugby Union should do whatever it is possible for them to retain Gatland at the Wales.
Welsh head coach; Gatland is also one of the contenders for the All Blacks coaching job following the end of Graham Henry’s tenure as New Zealand’s head coach.
Jenkins added, “We have got to try our best to keep hold of him. I know [Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive] Roger Lewis and people at the union would love him to stay. We all want him
to stay, and I think it is important we try to keep Warren.”
Jenkins added that Gatland has delivered consistent performances during his first tenure with the team. He acknowledged that the team’s performance was below par during the last season but
the team has rebounded strongly, as they will take on the Wallabies in the bronze medal match to become the world’s third best side.
Besides reaching the semifinals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament under Gatland, Wales won the 2008 Grand Slam title in the northern hemisphere. In 2009, they repeated the same performance
but missed the Grand Slam title by a small margin.
Gatland has signed his new deal with the WRU, which will keep him with the Wales side until the end of the 2015 campaign. However, Jenkins comments on urging WRU to keep him with Wales, depicts
that Gatland’s move is on the cards. Even more interesting is Gatland’s ability to identify young talent, develop them and most importantly get result from them. Nevertheless, these attributes have rich demand in the coaching market and WRU might find themselves
looking for a new coach in the future.
Wales will take on the Wallabies for third place this coming weekend.
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