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'Like Ronaldo going back to Man Utd': Fans react to 'embarrassing' Gatland appointment

By Finn Morton
(Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)

The Welsh Rugby Union have made a bold call about 10 months out from the World Cup, as they confirmed Warren Gatland would replace Wayne Pivac as the head coach of Wales.

Super coach Gatland etched his name into Welsh rugby folklore during his decorated first stint in charge of the team, where he guided Wales to two World Cup semi-finals and three Grand Slams.

New Zealand-born Gatland, who was also the head coach of the British and Irish Lions on three tours, is set to return to Wales for next year’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup – and potentially beyond.

While Gatland boasts unparalleled experience in charge of the national team, this appointment may prove to be one of his toughest challenges yet considering the form Wales have been in.

After starting their season with an emphatic 29-7 loss against Ireland in Dublin, Cymru went on to place second last in this year’s Six Nations – which included a thrilling loss to Italy.

While they were able to win one of their three July internationals in South Africa against the reigning World Cup champions, Wales struggled to maintain any momentum during the Autumn Nations Series.

The All Blacks seemed to turn their form around with a dominant display against Wales in Cardiff, and while the men in red bounced back with a seven-point win over Argentina, they finished their year with two disastrous losses.

After a shocking 12-13 loss to Georgia in Cardiff, Wales squandered a 21-point lead against the Wallabies the following weekend.

While the prodigal son in Gatland has returned to lead Wales’ resurgence ahead of the World Cup, some fans on Twitter have expressed why they aren’t so sure that it’s the right move.

Wales’ final two Test matches of the year somewhat summed up where this team was heading a year out from the World Cup.

Change was needed.

And while Gatland is always going to have his critics, a lot of supporters are backing him to help the proud rugby nation return to their former glory.

Wales are in Pool C along with familiar foes Australia and Fiji, who they went up against at the 2019 iteration of rugby’s biggest event.

The other two nations in the pool are Georgia and Portugal.