Gareth Jenkins Sacked!
In my previous post I wondered aloud if Gareth Jenkins should go or not. It appears the Welsh Rugby Union were more decisive than myself - just a few hours removed from Wales’ premature exit from the World Cup, the WRU have sacked Jenkins from his job. He had previously insisted that he would not resign.
In one respect I feel sorry for him - he had stated that the role of head coach was his dream job. For that dream to turn sour so quickly has to hurt. Add to that the stress that the last few months must surely have taken on his physical and mental health and you have a most unfortunate situation.
In another respect, I am glad he’s gone. For a substantial six-figure salary he’s done pretty much nothing with the squad. The Six Nations was a disaster, the only saving grace being our defeat of England. Having defeated our old enemy our previous failing were forgotten. Next, in preparation for the World Cup he fed England a third-rate side and we were left reeling at a 62-5 defeat at Twickenham. To show England the disrespect of fielding an untested team at Twickenham is bad enough, the very fact he’d consider playing anything other than our finest against our traditional enemy was a kick in the teeth for Welsh supporters. The final straw was our poor World Cup form, during which we only seemed to want to play in second halves. Simply not good enough.
Roger Lewis, WRU chief executive, went to great effort during the press conference to emphasize that Jenkins’ sacking did not constitute the finger of blame pointing at him, and went so far as to say the decision was for Jenkins’ own good. I don’t dispute that decision - though I consider myself level-headed enough to realise that there were 15 men on the pitch who played a large part in the Welsh failing - a lot of folk aren’t, and the WRU has pre-empted the witch hunt by ousting Jenkins immediately. Good call.
So, who next for Wales? Early names being thrown around are John Kirwan and Scott Johnson. I personally can’t see Scott Johnson returning to Wales, but according to the “next Wales coach” market that’s already opened at bookmakers William Hill, he’s the early favourite.