Wayne Pivac has left his position as Wales head coach and will be replaced by his predecessor Warren Gatland.
Gatland will take charge of next year’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup, and potentially the 2027 tournament.
The New Zealanders new contract reportedly costs the WRU £585,000 per year.
Add to this to Wayne Pivac’s considerable payoff and the money paid to the Chiefs to release Gatland, we’re talking over a million quid.
“I’m very much looking forward to returning to coach Wales,” said Gatland
“This is an opportunity to achieve something with a talented group of players in a country so passionate about rugby. A country which made my family and I so welcome, when we first arrived fifteen years ago, and all the time we were there.
“Our immediate priority is obviously the 2023 Guinness Six Nations and next year’s Rugby World Cup.
“There is little time for sentiment, professional sport is all about preparation, values and results. There will be new challenges as there always is with a change in head coach, but for me the environment, the players and their families will always come first.
“We must prepare to the best of our ability in the time available. We will value and respect each other, we will work hard and, if we get this right together, performances and results will follow.”
The WRU and New Zealand Rugby have reached agreement for Warren Gatland to be released from his existing contract with immediate effect.
As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.
Gatland was also head coach of the British & Irish Lions on three tours, to Australia in 2013, when they won the Test series 2–1; New Zealand in 2017, when the series was drawn; and South Africa in 2021, losing the series 2–1.
He has previously coached Connacht, Ireland, London Wasps, where he won three Premierships and the Heineken Cup, and Waikato, with whom he won the Air New Zealand Cup.
LIST: 5 highest paid head coaches in world rugby
4. Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach) – £500,000
Farrell received a significant pay boost when he took over from Joe Schmidt following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
