Ex-Wales coach Gatland takes up role in Uruguay

After wrapping up his second spell as Wales head coach, Warren Gatland has begun a consulting role in the Uruguayan rugby team.

The Super Rugby Americas (SRA) play-off finals will feature the 61-year-old New Zealander joining Uruguay’s professional club Penarol.

After a record-breaking run of 14 Test match defeats, Gatland quit his position as Wales’ head coach in February, two games before the 2025 Six Nations.

Penarol, one of the semi-finalists for the SRA, made the announcement via social media that he would be “Welcome Warren Gatland.”

The legendary New Zealand coach will work with Penarol as an advisor to head coach Ivo Dugonjic and the Penarol staff to put all of his knowledge to use, according to the Montevideo-based club.

Along with a world-class international career that began in 1998 under the leadership of Ireland, Gatland is one of rugby’s most successful coaches. She has also had stints at Connacht, Wasps, Waikato, and Super Rugby side Chiefs.

Four years later, he helped the British and Irish Lions win the series against Australia in 2013 and draw against the All Blacks in 2014.

He led the team to three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals during his first tenure as head coach of Wales, which he did from 2007 to 2019.

After a record-equal 14 matches without defeat, Wales even climbed to the top of the world rankings for the first time in August 2019. Gatland won 70 games in his first year in charge, with 53 defeats and two draws, giving it a 56% success rate.

However, he presided over the statistically worst Wales team in their 144-year international rugby history, with 14 successive Test losses, after returning following Wayne Pivac’s dismissal in 2022. In 26 matches, Gatland’s success rate was less than 25%, with only six victories and 20 defeats in its second.

The team still needs to stop a losing streak that began with their October 2023 victory over Georgia. Wales’ record run of Test defeats has been extended to 17 under caretaker Matt Sherratt.

With Scotland’s defense coach and former Ospreys boss Steve Tandy as a top target, the search for a full-time replacement for Gatland is currently under the direction of recently appointed Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) director of rugby, Dave Reddin.

Penarol are the top SRA club and became Uruguay’s first professional rugby team when it was founded in 2019. A victory over Argentina’s Pampas in their final regular-season game will earn them a home semi-final spot.