Make Or Break | Can Warren Gatland Resurrection Begin In The Six Nations?
Make Or Break | Can Warren Gatland Resurrection Begin In The Six Nations?
Can Warren Gatland rebuild Welsh Rugby? Heading into the 2025 Six Nations on a historic 12-match losing streak, the iconic coach faces a challenging year.
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Coaches on the hot seat? Rugby fans will need to look no further than iconic Welsh head coach Warren Gatland.
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He's caught in a bizarre dark timeline in which he remains arguably Welsh Rugby’s most decorated head coach, with a gate named after him outside of the Principality Stadium.
Yet, for all he has achieved during his storied run with Welsh Rugby, he enters the 2025 Guinness Six Nations on the back of a historic losing run of 12 consecutive defeats dating back to October 2023.
Marred by a failing system that has struggled to produce a player pool to match the golden generation of his first run, as well as off-the-field issues, this year’s Six Nations Championship will either make or break Gatland’s second tenure.
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Gatland began his remarkable love affair with Welsh Rugby in December 2007 on the back of a diabolical Rugby World Cup campaign that saw the men in red dumped out in the pool stages.
Taking charge in the 2008 Six Nations, Gatland immediately revitalized Welsh rugby, securing a Grand Slam with a stunning victory over England at Twickenham, their first there since 1988.
Under his leadership, Wales claimed the Triple Crown and dominated France to cap off a landmark tournament.
Gatland’s Wales has since achieved three Grand Slams during his first tenure (2008, 2012, 2019), making him the only coach in Five or Six Nations history to do so.
His 2019 Grand Slam team broke records with 14 consecutive victories, surpassing a Welsh winning streak held since 1910.
In Rugby World Cups, Gatland guided Wales to two semifinals (2011, 2019).
The 2011 campaign saw Wales among the final four teams, narrowly losing to France, while in 2019, a dramatic quarterfinal win against France preceded a hard-fought semifinal loss to South Africa.
Both campaigns solidified Wales' place as a global rugby powerhouse, which, given their limited playing numbers, was a significant feat.
Despite challenges, including injuries to key players and stiff opposition from Southern Hemisphere giants, Gatland steered Wales to notable victories over South Africa (2014), Argentina (2018) and a historic 2008 win over Australia. His leadership was further recognized with an OBE in 2014 for services to rugby.
After stepping down in 2019, Gatland returned in 2022 to reinvigorate the team ahead of the 2023 Six Nations. To his credit, he would go on to lead Wales to the top spot in its pool, with a record victory over Australia being a high point, before an eventual quarterfinal exit.
Since then, it has been a slippery slope for Gatland and his cavalry, with the 2025 Guinness Six Nations looking set to be another tough campaign.
With four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and an enduring impact on Welsh rugby, Gatland’s tenure is defined by resilience, innovation and consistent excellence on the international stage.
Adding further credence to the thought process that he can be the man to rebuild Welsh Rugby, was his success with reinvigorating the British & Irish Lions as a coach for the past four series.
Prior to this, his short spell with Ireland is defined by his selection of several players who would go on to become icons of the Irish game in Ronan O’Gara, John Hayes, Peter Stringer, Shane Horgan and Simon Easterby.
To achieve relative success this year, he will need to draw on every molecule of experience he has garnered over the past three decades of top-level coaching. Certainly, the decks are stacked against him, but the wily Kiwi will embrace the challenge.
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