7 days ago
The real reason Warren Gatland took shock job in Uruguay as fee details emerge
The real reason Warren Gatland took shock job in Uruguay as fee details emerge
The former Wales head coach has taken on an advisory role with Uruguayan club side Peñarol Rugby
Gatland is said to have come to Uruguay "out of passion and to collaborate"
(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency )
More details have emerged around Warren Gatland's shock new job in Uruguay, with the real reason he made the move revealed.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the New Zealander - who stepped down as Wales head coach during the Six Nations after a torrid run of 14 successive Test match defeats - had started a new role with Uruguayan club side Peñarol Rugby, in which he will advise head coach Ivo Dugonjic and his team ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Americas (SRA) play-off finals next month. The move has taken the rugby world by surprise, but it comes after Gatland admitted following his Wales exit that he was "not done with coaching" and would be interested in taking on consultancy role going forward. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Now, the 61-year-old's exact motivations for taking on the short-term role in South America have been revealed by Peñarol's club president Gustavo Guerra.
Speaking to El Observador, Guerra revealed that former Uruguayan Rugby Union president Sebastian Piñeyrúa had been the first to make contact with Gatland over the role, having had a good relationship with the coach due to his role on the World Rugby Council.
'Sebastian told me something about this 10 or 15 days ago, and I told him right away that he could count on my support, but that he should put us in the right conditions," he said. "And the truth is, [Gatland] is here out of passion and to collaborate.
'He's fully active, he's going to Australia to give talks, he continues to attend the Lions. He's here to contribute; he's not someone who's retired."
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El Observador also reports that the amount of money Gatland is being paid in the role is "far from" the money splashed around in Europe, with the club simply covering the cost of his stay and expenses, as well as providing "an extra fee" for giving talks to clubs in Uruguay.
Instead, the publication says that the former Wales boss has taken on the role "because of the challenge it entails" as well as "his desire to gain a closer look at the reality of regional rugby".
While he is set to advise Peñarol over the next three weeks, it is the hope of the URU that they will continue to be able to consult with Gatland in the future, particularly as Uruguay target a place at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The New Zealander got to work with Peñarol on Monday, meeting club directors and those from the URU, as well as Dugonjic and the rest of the team's coaching staff.
On Tuesday, he oversaw training as the team prepare to take on Pampas on Friday, in what will be their final match of the regular Super Rugby Americas season. Peñarol are currently top of the SRA table, with the Pampas match set to determine their route through the play-offs to the final.
While he will work with the squad this week, however, next week will see Gatland start giving talks at clubs around Uruguay.
Giving an insight into his first meeting with Gatland, Guerra said: 'Yesterday we had a meeting with him, Fabio, Pino, and me. He was a very kind, approachable guy. He knew things about Uruguay; he didn't come with his eyes closed.
"He analysed the proposal; he was attracted by the Switzerland of the Americas. Yesterday he walked the boardwalk; everything seemed very safe to him.
'On Sunday we're going to try to take him to the farms, and next week to Punta del Este, Colonia, without driving him crazy either.'
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'I have to thank both Fabio (Magno, president of the URU) and Sebastian (Piñeyrúa) for putting these kinds of things together," he added. "Being involved in the region, you tend to call people you know from Argentina.
"You don't even think of the right contact to call someone like Gatland. Or I could call someone, but it would be a challenge coordinating dates, not to mention the money. From a technical standpoint, it's like Ancelotti coming to Brazil."
