Warren Gatland. Photo / Photosport
Just after 2pm last Monday afternoon, local time, Wales coach Warren Gatland reached for his phone.
The doubts that had been festering since the autumn campaign had multiplied to the extent that they formed into a dark cloud in his mind. More than anything, he felt alone. It was time to take action.
In the best of days, Gatland leaned into pressure; revelled in it. But now it felt overwhelming and he was weighed down by a widespread negativity, piled on by some of his former players, which he found hard to comprehend.
For a moment he thought of the glory days when, during his first tenure coaching Wales, they had won three Grand Slams and twice reached the World Cup semifinals.
Just 16 months ago, following his return to the post in 2022, Wales had come agonisingly close to reaching the World Cup semis again, but a lack of experience cost his side in the closing minutes in the quarter-finals against Argentina.
Gatland remembered the critics then had predicted that Wales would not even get out of their World Cup pool, which included Australia and Fiji. But Wales topped it with four victories, including a record-breaking 40-6 mauling of Eddie Jones’ Wallabies. But any credit in the bank since then had long since been expended.
The loss to Argentina proved to be the first of 14 successive defeats that culminated in the humbling defeat in the rain in Rome against Italy.
After the World Cup, Gatland had taken the decision to build a new group of players, as he had done so successfully in 2011, but with the Welsh regions struggling, the pool of talent that had been available to him in his first tenure was simply not there. In some regards, the success of the national team had masked the issues that allowed the decline in competitiveness of the Welsh regions. Now it seemed like the dam had finally burst.
Gatland had offered his resignation at the end of last year’s Six Nations campaign, but it had been refused by Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Abi Tierney.
Two narrow defeats on the tour of Australia followed before the criticism of his tenure intensified during the autumn campaign, when Wales lost to Fiji, Australia and South Africa.
A WRU review of Gatland’s regime ensued, but having made it clear to his employers that he was determined to keep going, the decision was taken to back their man, although director of rugby Nigel Walker stepped down.
It must have felt like a humiliating process for the man who had also been head coach of the Lions tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021. Having flown back to his native New Zealand for Christmas, he debated with his family whether he should in fact call it a day. The recent death of two close friends had hit him harder than he expected.
He pledged to carry on, but told himself that he would do it on his terms, picking players who oozed positivity and promoting his right-hand man Rob Howley to take charge of the attack.
The 43-0 defeat by France in Paris in the opening round was a hammer blow.
Gatland, 61, had attempted to generate self-belief in his squad by telling them that the pressure was all on France, and while they held the championship favourites to 0-0 after half an hour, he knew the pressure would build from the home crowd. But his side overplayed, did not have the power to challenge the gain line and invited pressure.
Gatland knew the game in Rome had been billed as a must-win contest, but his luck was out. Dafydd Jenkins, one of his key forwards, came down with sickness on the eve of the game, while one of his most experienced backs, Liam Williams, failed a late fitness test on a knee injury.
Wales had opportunities to score, but Italy took theirs. When Gatland returned to Wales the next afternoon, his mind was still on preparing for the fallow week ahead. Some fans at Rome airport had offered their support to him and, after watching the match again with his management team, he began planning for a week ahead that would see some of his players return to the Premiership clubs, with just around 18 players available for two sessions on Thursday and Friday.
But when he woke on Monday morning, he simply could not shake the sense of doom that he felt. If he was being honest with himself, the sense of nervous excitement that normally accompanied the build-up to test matches had been replaced by a sense of dread because of the relentless negativity.
What will have hurt most is that it came from ex-players who had benefited from the winning culture that Gatland had created; one that had given them a profile they were now using to criticise him. He looked for any sort of balance and found little. It felt like no one had his back.
On Monday morning, he spoke to his wife Trudi and children Bryn and Gabby. The question to him was a simple one. “Daddy, are you happy doing what you are doing at the minute? You have always given 100% in terms of putting your heart and soul into things.” His answer was just as simple: “No, I am not.”
Gatland was also concerned that the focus on him had got to the stage where it was now detrimental to his players. He knew there was a WRU board meeting planned for Wednesday and that would only lead to more speculation. So he reached for his phone and called Tierney.
By around 8.30pm on Monday night, his departure had been agreed after a board meeting. Gatland had no wish to press for any potential payoff, despite having a contract through to the 2027 World Cup. Given the negativity around the team, it was best for the players for him to stand down.
On Tuesday morning, Gatland gathered his management team together and broke the news around 9am. Some were in tears. At 11.15am, he addressed the players, who had just finished a weights session, in the team room at the Vale of Glamorgan Resort and told them he had decided to step down.
There were messages of support afterwards from players and his wife Trudi also had messages from family members of staff and players. Gatland met with some of his management team for a quiet beer on Tuesday night, to relive some glorious old times. But perhaps the overwhelming emotion, sadly, was one of relief.
OPINION: Sport, with its fine margins such as this, can be beautiful and brutal.