Warren Gatland extends his contract as Wales head coach to 2019

Warren Gatland will remain Wales’s head coach until after the 2019 World Cup when he will have been in charge for 12 years, an unprecedented stint in the professional era.

He said he had chosen to stay in Wales because of his confidence in the players and coaching structures available.

Gatland has turned Wales into the best side in the northern hemisphere, winning the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2008 in his first few months at the helm.

Buy Wales Rugby Tickets now: Six Nations: Wales v Italy tickets and England v Wales Six Nations tickets securely online!!

Gatland said the fact that the job of coaching the All Blacks might not be available did not enter his thinking while he considered the option of remaining with Wales.

"I think that a lot of people speculated I was going to finish after 2015… but I felt like the job was sort of half done in terms of the amount of quality we have coming through. That's incredibly exciting.

"There was no thought in my process about coaching the All Blacks. I don't think about planning what I want to do - I'm a great believer in what will be, will be.

"I'm only 50 so still a really young coach so plenty of time to look at other opportunities in the future."

He also admitted that giving up the Wales role could later lead to regrets.

Gatland's new contract means he will have led Wales for 12 years by 2019, making him the longest serving national coach in history.

He will be the first coach to take Wales to three World Cups.

The contract provides hope that Wales will be able not only to challenge for the 2015 World Cup but also build for the one after.


About liverugbytickets.co.uk: Thousands of rugby tickets are on sale on world's biggest rugby ticketing website: We have RBS 6 Nations tickets such as England Rugby tickets, France Rugby tickets and Scotland Rugby tickets. Last but not least, we also have Hong Kong Sevens Tickets available.