Lawrence Dallaglio believes key decisions before Warren Gatland’s second stint with Wales laid the foundations for the demise that followed.
Gatland left his role as Wales head coach by mutual agreement on Tuesday, 72 hours after a crushing 22-15 loss against Italy in Rome.
The defeat extended Wales’ record losing run under Gatland to 14 matches, leaving them winless since beating Georgia during the 2023 World Cup and on course for successive Six Nations wooden spoons.
In his first spell as Wales head coach between 2008 and 2019, Gatland presided over a generation of Welsh talent and masterminded four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-final appearances and a brief stint as world rugby’s number one-ranked nation.
However, after returning in December 2022, Gatland’s second stint as head coach delivered just six wins from 26 Tests, with Dallaglio highlighting flaws in contingency planning for the future.
“There’s a lot more reasons Warren Gatland has not been successful in his second stint,” the former England international told Sky Sports.
“Mistakes were made in Wales long before Warren came back. Not giving [defence coach] Shaun Edwards a four-year contract and only offering a two-year contract, letting him go over the channel to France was a big mistake.
“There was a generation of players that were so talented, that played right up to the last breath of their physical rugby bodies.
Warren Gatland’s contrasting spells as Wales head coach
“Whether that meant you weren’t able to bring through a group of players, you suddenly lose 700 caps out the door and you’ve got to start again at a time when there’s a big goal for improvement.
“I don’t know much about what’s going on internally but when you’re successful, it’s rarely down to one person. And when you lose and there’s failure, it should not be attributed to one person.”
With Wales’ alarming decline under Gatland seeing them slump to a new world ranking low of 12th, below Georgia, Dallaglio believed the time for change had come.
Wales have fallen to an all-time low of 12th in World Rugby’s rankings
“It was probably time for a change,” he added. “Whether it’s the right thing to do mid-championship remains to be seen. It’s a tricky one for me.
“I think Warren was always looking for two or three performances so he could prove there was potential there.
“When you’re losing so often, it makes consistency of selection a problem. Through injury and trying to find different solutions, you end up chopping and changing your team. You don’t get anything in international rugby without trust and consistency.
“There’s going to be a challenge there for the next coach, and I think it’s not great for the game when the gaps between great nations like Wales and nations like South Africa, France and Ireland are so big. It’s not good at all.
“We want to see competitive matches. But who knows, there might be an uplifting performance over the next few weeks and England could be the ones to find out.”
Wasps’ coach Warren Gatland (front left) and captain Lawrence Dallaglio (front right) lift the Premiership trophy in 2005
Dallaglio, who won three Premiership titles and the European Champions Cup under Gatland during his tenure at London Wasps, believes the time for change had arrived and stressed his former coach’s legacy would endure.
“It’s very disappointing,” Dallaglio added. “Warren Gatland is a friend, as well as a coach, and he’s had a long stint of unparalleled and unprecedented success.
“His time at Wales at the moment is remembered for what’s happened in the last two years and 14 back-to-back defeats, but actually his legacy should be the three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-finals and what he did with the Lions.”
