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Welsh fans are thrilled that Warren Gatland isn't going to England
By Josh Raisey
Warren Gatland was revealed on Friday as the new Chiefs head coach from 2020, putting to an end months of speculation as to where his future lay.
The Wales boss has already agreed to take control of the British and Irish Lions for the third time in South Africa in 2021, but no one knew where he would be in the intermittent time.
It has now been revealed that he will spend a year with the Chiefs, take a year off to be with the Lions, and then return to the Super Rugby franchise in 2022 and 2023.
Many fans in the northern hemisphere were expecting Gatland to move to either England or France after the World Cup, tempted by the financial power that each one had.
With more resources and a greater pool of talent to choose from, many feared how powerful England or France would become with Gatland at the helm.
A grassroots referendum put an end to the French federation’s filtration with appointing a non-Frenchman as their national team’s boss.
And while the three-time Grand Slam winning coach subsequently ruled out the possibility of taking over from Eddie Jones in England after the World Cup, some thought that this was another case of his famed mind games.
With Wales heading into the World Cup in September with a lot of momentum, the last thing they would have wanted was the news that their coach was moving to their fiercest rival next year.
However, this confirmed move to the Chiefs has quashed the fears that the New Zealander would be taking over at Twickenham after the World Cup.
It has left Welsh fans seemingly over the moon. This is what they have said:
France have been in disarray for a while but many believe that under the right coaching, they could become the most powerful side in world rugby. Gatland was touted as the man who could bring about a great French revival before the FFR referendum result.
Many Welsh fans could have lived with the idea of Gatland coaching France, but they could not abide the thought of him being in charge of England. They now feel pleasantly relieved.
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