The Japan Times - Warren Gatland, Wales coach whose second stint failed to mirror success of first

Gatland's resignation follows Saturday's 22-15 Six Nations loss to Italy which condemned Wales to a national record 14th consecutive Test defeat.

New Zealander Gatland, 61, first coached Wales from 2008 until 2019, taking over a demoralised team that had crashed out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup following a shock defeat to Fiji.

Gatland turned the team around quickly, winning the Six Nations in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2019.

In three of those years -- 2008, 2012 and 2019 -- Wales completed the rare "Grand Slam" by winning every game in the Six Nations.

Under Gatland, who also coached the British and Irish Lions on three tours -- winning the 2013 series against Australia, drawing in New Zealand four years later, but losing against South Africa in 2021 -- Welsh success was forged on a robust defence that opponents often struggled to crack.

Alongside hard-nosed defence coach Shaun Edwards, who since joined France, Hamilton-born Gatland gave Wales a tough edge with a conservative, one-dimensional style of rugby critics dubbed "Warrenball".

It bore fruit as Wales repeatedly challenged for the Six Nations title and ended a miserable run against southern hemisphere teams Australia and South Africa.

Australia's 13-game winning streak against Wales ended in 2018 when the hosts ground out a 9-6 win over the Wallabies in Cardiff.

Gatland coached Wales to five wins over the Springboks, although South Africa pushed them out of consecutive World Cups in 2015 and 2019 at the knock-out stage.

Gatland, a former hooker who played 17 games for New Zealand but never won a Test cap, coached Wales against his homeland in 12 games but never won.

A 40-17 defeat by the All Blacks in the third-place play-off match at the 2019 World Cup was his last game in charge during his first spell.

- Pay the price -

Gatland returned to New Zealand and spent three, largely unsuccessful, years as head coach and then director of rugby for the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise.

But then came the call from the Welsh Rugby Union for a second stint with Wales.

Gatland replaced fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac, under whom Wales lifted the 2021 Six Nations but won just 13 of 34 Tests, suffering sobering losses to Georgia and Italy.

Under Gatland, Wales topped their pool at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but were knocked out by Argentina in the quarter-finals.

The team's last victory was a pool victory over Georgia in that tournament.

Then came a disastrous 2024 Six Nations, with Wales claiming the wooden spoon.

Since that win over Georgia more than 450 days ago, Wales ended 2024 without an international win, a first year without a Test victory since 1937 and have dropped to an all-time low of 12th in the world rankings.

That run of form has coincided with the retirement of a number of leading players such as Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar, Justin Tipuric and Ken Owens.

It has also come at a time where rugby's finances in the country are struggling and the four professional teams are in trouble.

While Gatland has blooded more than 20 players in his second spell, their lack of experience shone through and victories proved elusive.

As Gatland himself has repeatedly said, international rugby is a results-based sport where coaches pay for failure, which is the way to describe his second spell in charge.

K.Abe--JT