Warren Gatland to fly to Australia – Rugby News Update
Warren Gatland, the 48-year-old head coach of Wales is going to join up the team from New Zealand, with the team management saying that his arrival is ‘imminent’.
Gatland has not been part of the tour till now, as he suffered a broken ankle while vacationing in New Zealand earlier this year. In his place, Rob Howley was appointed as interim head coach, and under his guidance the Wales national team is playing Australia.
However, it is expected that Gatland is going to fly to Australia before the second test in Melbourne, and this will give a massive boast to the visiting team. It will help rally the tourists for the second match, and try to earn their first victory on Australian
soil since 1969.
Wales has problems of their own, with Howley considering a change in playing positions to accommodate Justin Tipuric, who impressed during the game against the Brumbies. There is a possibility that Sam Warburton, the Welsh captain, will be shifted to the
No.8 position to accommodate Tipuric.
Rob McBryde, the assistant coach, said while speaking to the BBC, "We've certainly got to consider it, he [Warburton] has played there before," and further added, "I know that we used him as a number eight back in 2009 on the America-Canada tour.There's
a bit of heat on the captain at the moment without doubt."
"His [Tipuric] form at the moment warrants certainly a place in the match 22, if not a starting place.The effect he's had in the last two games as well as his performances for the Ospreys, he really does stand out so at the moment he's giving us a bit of
a headache."
Gatland was appointed the coach of Wales in 2007. He led the country to their first win at Twickenham since 1988, and to a Grand Slam. In 2011 Wales reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, and won the 2012 Six Nations Grand Slam. He penned a new
contract with the Wales Rugby Union, and will be in charge of the team till the conclusion of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
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