Warren Gatland, the frontrunner to succeed Gareth Jenkins as the Wales head coach, said last night that he and the Welsh Rugby Union had only minor details to sort out after three days of discussions and that he wanted to link up again with the Wasps head coach Shaun Edwards.
Gatland, the former Ireland coach and Wasps director of rugby who is currently in charge of Waikato, was a guest of the WRU's chief executive, Roger Lewis, at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday night for Joe Calzaghe's fight against Mikkel Kessler, and he hopes to conclude negotiations by the end of the week.
Talks have included Gatland's potential back-up team and he is keen on recruiting Edwards, with whom he had a successful partnership at Wasps, as defence coach. It is understood the WRU has agreed Edwards could fill the post part-time and continue working at Wasps and he said yesterday: "If Wales made an approach to me, I would consider it with an open mind. It is no secret that I want to get into international rugby."
Gatland was at Wasps' EDF Energy Cup match against Gloucester on Sunday and he said yesterday: "I would be excited at the prospect of working with Shaun again, but he is under contract to Wasps and it would be unfair to speculate. I am very interested in the Wales job and we just have a few minor details to sort out, such as a work permit. If both sides are happy, we can get things done."
The WRU is not making any official comment. It drew up a three-man shortlist that includes South Africa's World Cup-winning coach, Jake White, whose agent Craig Livingstone last week prematurely wrote off his client's interest in the vacant Wales and Australia jobs, saying England was his focus.
Gatland has reportedly been seeking €500,000 a year and that would cost the WRU €2m by the next World Cup. The union favours a contract that includes provision for performance-related pay.
John O'Sullivan adds:Gatland's name had been linked to several positions including that of potential successor to New Zealand's outgoing coach Graham Henry.
He is believed to have received an official communique from the NZRFU but is aware there are others who would have a stronger claim on the position, with Robbie Deans a probable favourite. The Welsh job will represent a return to the international arena for Gatland, who took charge of Ireland in 1998, succeeding Brian Ashton in that role. The affable Kiwi took over a team in freefall and gave them credibility during his three-year tenure. Lens might have been a low point but there were many good memories from his time at the helm.
He was replaced by his then assistant coach Eddie O'Sullivan in 2001 and moved to Wasps, initially as coach but following the departure of Nigel Melville he also discharged the director of rugby duties.
He guided the English club from the bottom of the Premiership to three consecutive titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and a memorable Heineken Cup success in 2004. He returned to New Zealand in 2005 to take over coaching the Waikato National Provincial Championship (NPC) side.
The NPC was superseded by the Air New Zealand Cup in 2006 with Gatland steering Waikato to the first title of the new competition, beating Wellington in the final. He joined the Waikato Chiefs Super 14 team in 2006 as technical advisor.
The fact that Gatland has no allegiance to any of the Welsh regions would have further boosted his candidature. If he is appointed then he'll be handed a homecoming of sorts at Croke Park on Saturday, March 8th, when Ireland host Wales in the Six Nations.
