WRU must find a way to bring back sacked Wales coach
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Over the next few weeks the Welsh Rugby Union will be announcing a raft of new appointments which they view as integral to their quest of getting the game in Wales back on track.
Former FA chief Dave Reddin will be appointed director of rugby, while Steve Tandy is the front runner to succeed Warren Gatland as head coach - although that deal has not been finalised yet - but one man who should be targeted for a return is Stephen Jones.
In Wales we have this awful habit of throwing coaches into the dustbin after one or two rocky spells, but failure is a part of the journey to success; just look at Steve Hansen's time with Wales.
To many Welsh fans, Jones is tainted by the fact he was aligned with former Wales head coach Wayne Pivac. After a mixed spell with Wales between 2020 to 2022, Pivac and most of his backroom team were relieved of their duties.
But prior to Wales' struggles under Pivac Jones was hailed as the second coming by many within the Welsh game.
The former Wales playmaker is an innovative attack coach and while Pivac got much of the credit, Jones was the mastermind behind the Scarlets' sensational surge to the old PRO12 title in 2017 and their march to a Champions Cup semi-final the previous season.
Prior to that Jones was very highly-thought of by Wasps where he was an attack coach working under Dai Young. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Following Wales' departure, Jones was deemed surplus to requirement by Warren Gatland but by all accounts he has been doing an excellent job as Tana Umaga's right-hand man with Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby.
(Image: Ben Evans/Huw Evans Agency)
Pivac's tenure is viewed negatively but Wales did play some excellent attacking rugby at times, especially during the 2021 Six Nations title-winning season and the summer tour of South Africa in 2022 where they won a first ever Test match in the Rainbow Nation against the Springboks.
Also, during Pivac's final game in charge against Australia, Wales played some breathtaking attacking rugby to lead 34-13 before self-imploding late on and handing the game to the Wallabies on a plate.
Wales' struggles under Pivac weren't necessarily down to the attack because they failed to dominate the breakdown while they were unable to compete as well physically as they did during the first Gatland era.
Jones deserves another shot at Welsh rugby whether that is as an attack coach with the senior side, with one of Wales' professional clubs or even working within the pathway. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
Welsh rugby has lost a huge amount of coaching IP and as part of the One Wales strategy the WRU should be targeting the likes of Jones, former Cardiff boss Young and Leinster forwards coach Robin McBryde, among others, for a return to Wales.
It would also be a crying shame if Rob Howley were not retained by the WRU because the former Wales scrum-half is doing a fantastic job with the pathway.
(Image: © Huw Evans Picture Agency)
One only need look at the situation in England following their group stage exit at their own Rugby World Cup in 2015. The Rugby Football Union got rid of almost the entire coaching team of Stuart Lancaster, Andy Farrell, Mike Catt and Graham Rowntree.
It would have been easy for other governing bodies or club's to have viewed the likes of Lancaster or Farrell as failures, putting an end to their coaching careers. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
But they have learnt the lessons from the ill-fated 2015 World Cup campaign and have gone on to establish themselves as some of the best coaches in the world.
Farrell has led Ireland to unprecedented success and is now head coach of the British & Irish Lions while Lancaster did a good job at Leinster and is highly-respected. Both Catt and Rowntree have also gone on to experience success elsewhere.
The WRU rugby needs to learn from the RFU's mistakes and work hard to persuade some of the more experienced Welsh coaches back to Wales.
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