Warren Gatland has staunchly defended his tenure as the head coach of Wales and revealed a stern warning he relayed to Welsh Rugby Union chief Abi Tierney last autumn. Reflecting on his departure, the Kiwi opened up about remaining true to himself regarding the plan for the Welsh squad. His primary aim was ensuring that Wales would build a strong team capable of competing in the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Speaking on the Stick to Rugby podcast, he confessed to struggling with what he perceived as a lack of support from the Welsh media and described the current coaching environment as “woke” during his second spell in charge.

Additionally, Gatland stressed the need for significant investment into Welsh rugby’s academies and pathways, urging for better cooperation between the four regional teams and the Welsh Rugby Union. Despite observing improvements under Matt Sherratt, Gatland was quick to endorse his own strategy and shared the lineup he would maintain going forward.

“It was quite funny because I finished and I looked at the team they picked against Ireland,” said Gatland, contrasting his long-term view with the immediate focus of Sherratt. “For me, my whole thought process wasn’t about now, and Matt’s got that luxury. He’s just thinking about now, and he’s brought players in.

“My whole thing is how do we get back into a cycle again when we’re thinking about the World Cup. So if I looked at the team, if I was involved in selection, I would have started Dan Edwards at 10, stayed with Eddie James at 12, probably Joe Roberts would have been at 13 and it would have been probably the same back three.”

Commenting on interim Wales boss Sherratt’s decision to recall players like Max Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans, Ashton recognised that choices in team selection are highly individual. “Matt’s got a relationship with those players and he thinks that they can make a big difference. That’s completely his prerogative to do that. He’s on a different mindset in terms of what he’s trying to do.

“Like I said, our whole thought process was… I’ve got to go into the job thinking honestly, what is the best decision long-term for Welsh rugby? How do we get to 2027 where we’ve got some experience, we’ve got some depth in certain positions, knowing that you get three or four months together in a World Cup cycle where you can do the training, the depth, the detail that’s needed.

“I’d look at it as you’ve got a World Cup squad and you’re thinking 70-80 per cent of them can hopefully be there for the next cycle. After the World Cup, a few players drop off and the transition becomes easy coming in, then you lose some players on the way and so the transition is easier.

“But after France, when you lose 18 players within your squad, it’s going to take a little bit of time to replace that strength in depth. That was my whole thought process on where we were.”

Gatland opened up about his decision-making during his recent tenure with the Welsh rugby team, emphatically declaring that he was true to his convictions. He added: “I had to be true to myself and think ‘Warren, this is not about you or what you’re trying to do – if you honestly believe [you’re] building this team to get them in the best possible shape for the World Cup, then you’ve got to stick by your principles’.

“That’s exactly what I was doing. I’ve done okay in rugby and I’m not in there thinking I’ve got to protect my job or I’ve got to worry about my family and all those sorts of things – I can make these different decisions.”

Gatland confessed to loving his time in Wales and promised to be “cheering like mad” for the team from now on, but also acknowledged being “taken aback” by the condition of Welsh rugby upon his return. He remarked that after a long period of “plugging the dam” it would “take a while” for Welsh rugby to bounce back, accepting that “a lot of work to do” remains.

“Having come back I was taken aback by all the systems and structures that had been put in place and how they had basically pretty much gone, fallen away, the planning and preparation that had gone during those different cycles.

“There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of the pathways, the U20s programme. We got rid of the National Academy in 2015, which I think was a mistake. Wales U20s won a Grand Slam in 2016, and since 2017, they haven’t finished above fourth. Those are the players that are coming through to the senior squad.

“We were saying for a long time, we’re just plugging the dam here with the success that we’re having, we’re papering over the cracks – and when the dam bursts, it’s going to take a while to [recover]. It’s going to take time to develop some strength in depth, to put the resources into the academies and the pathways and the U20s programme and get good people involved, experienced coaches.”

Reflecting on discussions about the collaboration between regional teams and the national union, Gatland shared his insights from a conversation with WRU CEO Abi Tierney last year: “You need planning and stuff and you need the regions and the union working close together. There is still a deal that hasn’t been done.”

“I can remember going out for lunch with Abi Tierney, the new CEO, and she said ‘The deal’s been done, I’ve spoken to all the regions individually and it’s really, really close’. This was six or seven months ago.

“I went, ‘Abi, I’m telling you now, from my experience, you think that deal is going to be done [but] when it comes to the day it’s to be signed, there will be something that will stop it from being done’. It’s still not done.”

Following a streak of 14 consecutive Test match losses, Gatland has opened up about the pressures he faced in his second tenure. He found it strenuous to alter his coaching approach for a younger squad, a change he doesn’t feel was beneficial, reflecting on how “woke” Welsh rugby and the sport in general has become.

“I think there was a period where we became so woke and we were so afraid of what we said and stuff,” he remarked. “But sport – not just rugby – is hard and it’s tough and it’s not always enjoyable and you’ve got to be mentally tough, you’ve got to have resilience.

“It almost became like it wasn’t the right thing to talk about, needing mental toughness and resilience. But I think that balance is starting to come back a little – people are realising, actually, we went too far one way.

“I thought there’s so much negativity around the game directed towards the team, to me personally and directed to the union. The best decision was [thinking] can I step away from that to take a little bit of pressure off the players and the union for a period?

“Then that focus can be on me and it gives them a chance to have a little bit of a reset and see what they can do. It was probably the first time that I’ve gone into games with a bit of trepidation. You always get nervous before games, but it was the first time I was going ‘am I enjoying this?’. That’s probably why I ended up making the decision.”

This article first appeared on WalesOnline.