'You're on 600k': Former favourite turns on Gatland in extreme tirade

Former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips has said that Warren Gatland "deserves to be kicked out" in an impassioned post online, adding it was "nuts" that the Welsh Rugby Union ever re-hired him.

Wales slumped to their 10th Test loss in a row on Sunday as Fiji beat them 19-24 at the Principality Stadium for their first-ever win in Cardiff.

Speaking after the match, Gatland said to TNT Sports that "there were a lot of positives," adding that "I thought we started really well, we attacked, we did a lot of positive things."

This appraisal from the Wales boss has not gone down well with some sections of Welsh rugby, particularly with 94-cap Welsh great Phillips, who said that the Kiwi is on "600k a year and doesn’t even have to win."

Phillips was a stalwart for Gatland for both Wales and the British and Irish Lions, but is one of a number of former players whose patience has grown thin with their former boss, who is still searching for a Test win after over 400 days.

After leaving his role as head coach of Wales after the 2019 World Cup, Gatland was reappointed in 2022 after the sacking of Wayne Pivac, a decision Phillips has described as "nuts".

The former Scarlets, Cardiff and Ospreys No 9 went on to say that the Kiwi is "only out for himself" and that it "kills" him to see the praise that the three-time Grand Slam winner has received.

"Loads of positives yeah, you’re on 600k a year and don’t even have to win!" the 42-year-old wrote on X. "How the WRU bring this guy back is just nuts! Laughing all the way to the bank."

"When I see this guy talking about family makes me cringe. Did he speak to me at the end of my career, did he f! I won for this guy.

"This bloke is only out for himself, and it kills me to see all this bulls**t praise he’s getting. He deserves to be kicked out, like he did to so many quality Welsh players."

With fixtures against a resurgent Australia and double World Cup winners South Africa to come in November, things are not going to get any easier for Wales. Gatland could well be fighting for his job over the next two weeks, which is inevitable given their poor run.

While not explicitly calling for Gatland to be sacked, former Wales fly-half Sam Davies, capped eight times by Gatland in his first spell, has said on X that it is "time for change" in the Welsh set-up.

Another Gatland favourite, Andy Powell, hopes that his former boss keeps his job, but queried online whether it's a "P45 for Gatland" following the Fiji defeat.