Warren Gatland set to land new full-time coaching job six months after Wales exit
The New Zealander is making his return to coaching after leaving his role with Wales during the Six Nations
Gatland has landed a new role in Japan
(Image: PA)
Former Wales head coach Warren Gatland is set to be unveiled as the new head coach of Japanese side Urayasu D-Rocks, according to reports from Japan.
The 61-year-old stepped down from his position as Wales boss during this year's Six Nations, following a run of 14 straight Test match defeats during his second stint in charge. However, after walking away from the job, he admitted that he was "not done with coaching" and expressed interest in taking up another role ahead of the next Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Three months on from his Wales exit, he took up an advisory role with Uruguayan club side Penarol, helping them to win the Super Rugby Americas title in June.
However, he is now set to make his official coaching return with the D-Rocks in Japan Rugby League One, according to RugbyJP.com.
While the New Zealander's appointment has not been officially announced by the Division One club, who are based in Urayasu City in Chiba, he is set to replace former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw as head coach. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby
Laidlaw - who represented the club between 2020 and 2023 - became the league's youngest head coach last summer, following the departure of South African coach Johan Ackermann, who had led the D-Rocks to promotion in the previous campaign.
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On their return to the top flight, the club struggled as they lost 15 of their 18 regular season games, before beating Division Two side Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi in a play-off match to avoid relegation to the second tier.
In replacing Laidlaw - who he coached on the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand - Gatland will return to coaching club rugby full-time for the first time since his second spell with the Chiefs in 2021.
According to RugbyJP.com, the D-Rocks have moved to change their head coach again ahead of the new season, with the former Wales boss "picked from a host of international candidates," which reportedly also included a former Springbok international.
Gatland will now be coaching a host of big names in his new role, including South Africa back rower Jasper Wiese and Wallabies internationals Samu Kerevi and Israel Folau.
He will also come up against his son Bryn, who represents Kobe Steelers, later in the season, which is due to begin in December.
Gatland previously spoke of the "fantastic" set-up that Bryn had in Japan, as he spoke of how the game was growing in the country during an appearance on The Rugby Pod.
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"Oh, it's absolutely fantastic," he said. "When you go there, you see the facilities and you see what they provide for the players in terms of where they're living, in terms of the apartment setups.
"I think Bryn's been given a car and he's five minutes from training, so he's really happy there. I really enjoyed it when I went.
"It was a good training session but also with the facilities and the investment that the companies put into the game in Japan, I think the game is definitely going to grow there going forward."
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