Warren Gatland

Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wales national team.

His first game as an All Black was in 1988, when he is said to have introduced a hybrid Australian rules–Gaelic football game to the training sessions, which was well received by the other players.

Gatland launched his coaching career as a player/coach for Taupiri in 1989, and after the All Blacks' 1989 tour, he remained in Ireland to act as a player/coach for Galwegians RFC leading them to promotion into the All-Ireland League Division 2.

Gatland became the record-holder of the most games for Waikato near the end of the 1994 season.

After retiring from the club in 1994, he became assistant coach to Thames Valley in New Zealand.

He coached the team to promotion from the third division to the second in the National Provincial Championship.

He finished the season with 140 games in total and announced his retirement before the start of the 1995 season.

In 1996, he returned to Ireland and became the director of rugby at Connacht, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 1997–98 European Challenge Cup after twice beating Northampton Saints in the pool stages.

On 24 February 1998, after Brian Ashton resigned after round one of the 1998 Five Nations Championship, Gatland was appointed coach of Ireland.

His first match in charge was against a rampant French side who had already scored over 70 points in their opening two fixtures.

However, Gatland led Ireland to a close 18–16 defeat at the Stade de France in Paris.

Ireland finished in last place with zero points.

Gatland quickly improved Ireland's performances.

This included a 29–23 victory over the Welsh in the 1999 Five Nations Championship and a 32–24 win over Argentina.

Ireland had a disappointing 1999 Rugby World Cup campaign and failed to make it to the quarter-finals after losing narrowly to Argentina in a play-off game 28–24.

On 19 March 2000, Ireland beat France in Paris for the first time since 1972, when a hat-trick of tries from Brian O'Driscoll led them to a 27–25 win.

Ireland also beat France at Lansdowne Road in the return fixture in the 2001 Six Nations Championship.

Ireland also beat Italy in a six-try romp, 60–13 in Dublin.

In 2001, Gatland's last year as coach, Ireland finished the championship with the same points as winners England, losing on points difference.

In the same year, Gatland's Irish team played against the touring All Blacks, losing 29–40 in Gatland's last match in charge of Ireland.

He was sacked and was replaced by his assistant coach Eddie O'Sullivan.

Overall, Gatland moved Ireland from eighth to sixth in the IRB World Rankings, with a 47% win rate.

After losing his job with Ireland, he joined the coaching staff at London Wasps under director of rugby Nigel Melville.

The team was bottom of the Premiership at this time, but Gatland helped steer them away from the relegation zone and develop one of the meanest defences in Europe.

He took over as director of rugby when Melville left for Gloucester at the end of the 2001–02 season.

In Europe, Wasps won the 2002–03 European Challenge Cup, winning eight from eight matches, and beating Bath 48–30 away in the final.

Under Gatland's guidance, Wasps won three Premiership titles; in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

After qualifying for the Heineken Cup in the 2003–04 season, Wasps won the title, beating Toulouse 27–20 in the final.

At the end of the 2004/2005 season, Gatland returned to New Zealand, where he was installed as coach at Waikato.

On his return to New Zealand to coach Waikato in the National Provincial Championship (NPC), he led the side to seventh in the Division 1 table.

However, under the new competition format, the Air New Zealand Cup in 2006, Gatland took Waikato to the final of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup, beating Wellington in the final 37–31, losing only one match in the run up to the knock out stages.

In addition to his role as head coach of Waikato, during the off-season, he acted as technical advisor for the Chiefs Super 14 team in 2006.

As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.

However, in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, Gatland was only able to lead Waikato to the quarter-finals, losing to 38–35 to Hawke's Bay.

Gatland was also head coach of the British & Irish Lions on three tours, to Australia in 2013, when they won the Test series 2–1; New Zealand in 2017, when the series was drawn; and South Africa in 2021, losing the series 2–1.

He has previously coached Connacht, Ireland, London Wasps, where he won three Premierships and the Heineken Cup, and Waikato, with whom he won the Air New Zealand Cup.

He has also coached Chiefs between 2020 and 2022 before returning to Wales in December 2022.

As a player, he played as a hooker and was one of Waikato's longest-serving players, playing 140 games for the province – a record at the time.

Gatland was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Waikato University.

He played 17 non-international matches for New Zealand, but never won an international cap.