Welsh crooner Tom Jones’s song It’s Not Unusual seems like an apposite theme tune to highlight a quirk of circumstance with regard to the departures governing a trio of now former Wales head coaches.
Warren Gatland’s decision to step down from the role “by mutual agreement” with the Wales Rugby Union (WRU) sees him become the third Welsh head coach to resign from the position in the professional area during a Six Nations tournament, on all three occasions in the month of February.
Former Bective Rangers, Lansdowne, Leinster and Ireland under-20 head coach Mike Ruddock, father to Rhys and Ciaran, husband to Dubliner Bernie and occasional guitar hero, resigned as Welsh coach on St Valentine’s Day 2006, 11 months after leading Wales to a first Grand Slam triumph in 27 years.
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That campaign spawned a great yarn. After a win over England with the last kick in the first game in Cardiff, Wales’s next assignment was against Italy at the Stadio Flaminio, where they had lost two years previously.
At half-time, Ruddock was on his way down the steps from the coaching booth to the dressingroom when he encountered two Italian policemen at the foot of a stairwell, who opened a door through which he stepped. The original story, slightly embellished, he conceded, was that Ruddock found himself on the street, but the truth of the matter was that he was trapped in an empty corridor.
He spent a while banging on doors, trying to explain who he was, before being allowed back in. Renowned for his sense of humour Ruddock recalled: “The guys [Wales players] were in the dressingroom wondering where the coach had got to. I just said: ‘Guys, you did so well in that first half, I just wanted to give you longer to reflect on it. Now get out there and do the same.’”
There was nothing humorous about what happened in February 2006, when Ruddock resigned two matches into the Six Nations, having lost to England and beaten Scotland. There was talk of a player power push but in the BBC documentary Slammed, Ruddock said that he felt his position had become untenable after the WRU dithered on agreeing a contract.
“When I took the Wales job, it all happened so quickly that I never got around to signing a contract. After the Six Nations, I shook hands with the WRU on a deal to go forward. Seven or eight months later, we still hadn’t nailed down the details.
“The contract negotiations had fallen apart, and I was going into my second Six Nations without a contract. Ask any coach in the world if that’s a particularly comfortable place to be. It’s not a comfortable place to be. It just made me think that my future lay elsewhere.” It would be Irish rugby’s gain.
Four years earlier on February 3rd, 2002, Graham Henry resigned as Wales head coach after watching his side get thumped 54-10 by Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the first match of that season’s Six Nations. Peter Clohessy led the Irish side out on the occasion of his 50th cap, debutants Paul O’Connell and Keith Gleeson scored tries, and the IRFU’s current performance director, David Humphreys, won the man-of-the-match award.
Henry, a New Zealander, agreed to become Wales coach in 1998, and was the subject of a WRU marketing campaign that bestowed on him the title “The Great Redeemer”. He took time out to coach the Lions in Australia in 2001. Despite an 11-match winning streak with Wales, his record in Five/Six Nations and World Cup fixtures was nine wins, nine defeats and one draw. He had a win-rate of more than 67 per cent including all games.
He said in an interview about his decision to resign: “I got depression, I assume it was depression. I didn’t want to have any contact with people. I had to make a decision on whether to carry on trying to do the job or get out of there. And I decided to get out of there.”
Tuesday, February 11th, marked the formal announcement of Gatland’s departure in his second tenure as Wales coach, in marked contrast to his first stint in which the New Zealander led the Principality to three Grand Slams and a World Cup semi-final among other bits and bobs of silverware.
The first of those Slams in 2008 offers up a lesson for Ireland not to take things for granted when they face Wales in Cardiff on Saturday week. Gatland’s first game in charge was at Twickenham, where their hosts were unbackable favourites, Wales having not won at the venue since 1988.
England went 19-6 up but Gatland’s side rallied to prevail 26-19. Victories over Scotland and Italy ensued before the Welsh beat the reigning Triple Crown holders Ireland at Croke Park. They then completed the Slam by beating France at the Millennium Stadium.
Only Wales and Ireland can win the Triple Crown in this season’s Six Nations. Wales, who would have to win their three remaining matches to do so, are 250-1. Ireland, who need to beat Wales, are 1-66. The home side are 25-1 to win their next match. But really, what are the odds of history repeating itself on Saturday week?
