News about Rob Howley

ALEX BYWATER: As the floodlights flicker under the night sky, the best player in Wales last season is almost unrecognisable as he goes about his business at his boyhood club. At Whiteheads RFC in Newport, Wainwright - the Dragons and Wales No 8 - is just another one of the boys. Wainwright coaches both the senior and junior sides at the club in the few free hours he gets away from playing professionally.

ALEX BYWATER: Recent history tells us the new campaign is likely to be anything but uneventful. Frankly, it is hard to escape the fact that once again the forecast looks gloomy. Before I'm accused of revelling in the negative, I shall point out I have been hugely fortunate to report on one of Wales' golden periods. From a media perspective, life is far easier in the good times. But currently, Warren Gatland's senior Wales men's side have lost their last nine Tests. Their only wins last season came in uncapped games with the Barbarians and Queensland Reds. Wales will start the season 11th in World Rugby's rankings, having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since the standings were introduced after the 2-0 Test series defeat in Australia.

On Saturday, Rob Howley said it's 'great to be back' and applauded the 'formidable' challenge of facing defending Six Nations champions Ireland. Since serving a well-publicised ban on betting, Howley has rejoined Wales. With back-to-back losses to Scotland and England, his first campaign since returning to the national side under head coach Warren Gatland's direction has begun. Wales is starting anew. Youth are being offered the opportunity to shine in Gatland. He named a team for Ireland on a one-change from the one that was defeated 16-14 by England at Twickenham. Sam Costelow is back in the fly-half to start.

Rob Howley sat in a room inside Principality Stadium on Thursday with a huge smile spread across his face nearly four years to the day since being banned from breaching rugby's betting laws was announced. At least howley, few might have predicted this coming. He admitted as much after returning to head coach Warren Gatland's Wales unit at the home of his country's national game.

After returning to the country's national game, Rob Howley said on Thursday that he had promised to repay the faith invested in by Warren Gatland and Welsh rugby's top brass. On the eve of the 2019 World Cup, Howley was barred from rugby and left his previous work with Wales, where it was discovered he had been betting on the sport in which he was active. Howley was barred from playing rugby for 18 months, nine of whom were suspended, as a result of the investigation. He admitted to breaching World Rugby's betting rules.

As assistant coach Rob Howley was sent home from Japan for breaching betting laws, the start of Wales' World Cup bid was put into complete and utter disarray. There was no one alive, but the carnage was horrific. Martyn Phillips, the British Rugby Union chief executive, travelled around the globe to sort the chaos and chair an emergency press conference. There was nothing for Wales to be concerned about off the field in Bordeaux yesterday (FRI), save the searing heat. As the temperature reached 35 degrees, Welsh and Irish fans basked in the sun. The Six Nations grand slam winners face Romania today (SAT), while for Wales, Fiji will take the field (SUN). Warren Gatland, the head coach of Wales' fifth World Cup, has no off-field drama to distract him right now, which is unusual in the madcap world that is Welsh rugby.

SHAUN EDWARDS - FRANCE'S DEFENCE COACH — We've spent a lot of time preparing for this World Cup, and now it's business time. Wherever we go, I can feel the excitement. Outside the hotel, fans are eager for autographs, and the lads' faces are on billboards all over town. I adore it. We're getting police escorts everywhere, and you can hear people yelling 'Allez Bleus'. These are the days we live in. Fabien Galthie told the participants that New Zealand had never lost a pool game in the World Cup at the start of the week. It seemed that it was a bit of a challenge, and you could see the players' faces on the screen. It set the tone. The bigger the challenge, the more our players accept it.

ALEX BYWATER: Jac Morgan was voted Wales' top writer for a long time and capped what has been a great few days for him by being named as the year's best Welsh writer. Morgan captained his country for the first time at senior level in a World Cup warm-up against England on Saturday and his side put on a man-of-the-match effort in a 20-9 win for his team. The 23-year-old's ascension to skipper came on the back of an impressive 2022-23 campaign, one for which he has been praised by Wales' rugby media. Morgan was forced to miss Wales' tour of South Africa by then head coach Wayne Pivac last summer, but he has excelled both in international rugby and in his region Ospreys.

Following Dai Young's controversial dismissal of the Welsh region, Rob Howley is the leading candidate to take over Cardiff Rugby. Howley is one of the most decorated coaches in northern hemisphere rugby. Before serving a surprise betting ban, he was assault coach with Wales and the British & Irish Lions under Warren Gatland.

COMMENT: The shock is seismic. The landscape of English rugby has been drastically changed at a stroke. Wasps are no longer available. Gone. The sport's marquee name has been misspelled. And so much in this season of turbulence and upheaval, it's difficult to comprehend. As the struggling but beloved club went into administration last fall under a mountain of debt, there were soon encouraging signs of a forthcoming revival. Saviours have appeared, or at least it seemed. However, those who wanted to resuscitate Wasps were unable to find a way to do so. They've been looking for a solution for months and months, but the numbers don't add up.

Exclusive INTERVIEW BY NIK SIMON (NIK SIMON) Rob Howley is sitting in his study in the Toronto suburbs. He is just a few hundred yards from the frozen Humber River, and the temperatures have dropped just below zero. The uprising in Wales hasn't caused a ripple. Howley, who was barred from Welsh rugby for betting in 2019, now serves as an ambassador for the Arrows in Major League Rugby. He has completed his suspension and is preparing for the game against New York on Saturday. He takes refuge from the cold while still on work on his notebook, and the Zoom link appears on screen as he opens.

Warren Gatland has expressed disappointment after the Welsh Rugby Union refused to send former assistant Rob Howley back to Wales. Gatland returned to Wales as the head coach for a second spell in December, but he wanted Howley - who was barred from rugby for betting offences in 2019 - as his assault lieutenant. However, the WRU board ruled that Howley's history was a barrier to future re-employment. Instead, Gatland brought in former England fly-half Alex King.

In December, Gatland made a dramatic return as Wales head coach, replacing fired Wayne Pivac and marking his presence by deleting Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins. Both King and Forshaw have recalled them as assault coach and defense lieutenant respectively, with the latter joining Sale from high-flying Premiership. In his first year as boss, Gatland led Wales to a remarkable run, winning three Six Nations grand slams between 2007 and 2019.

Steve Borthwick's reimagining of the England management team has continued as it is reported that fitness specialist Jon Clarke has departed his position, opening the doorway for another recruit from Leicester. Clarke, a veteran rugby league player, joined the Red Rose in 2018 and became an integral part of England's victory to the final World Cup final. However, reports have confirmed that he has been released and that the addition of Aled Walters is an inevitability, even though not until the end of the season.

After Warren Gatland tore up the coaching staff he inherited from Wayne Pivac, Rob Howley is a leading candidate to make what will be a thrilling Wales return. On Thursday, Wales revealed that new head coach Gatland had chosen to refuse to deal with the services of incumbent assistants Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins. Howley, who was suspended as Wales attack coach by Jones on the eve of the 2019 World Cup after being found to have violated betting laws, is one of the names being considered to join Gatland's new regime.

Wayne Pivac's retirement and swapping him with Warren Gatland will cost at least £1 million, but it does not appear that the Welsh Rugby Union will go any where. Pivac's tenure as head coach comes to an end this week, with just three victories in Welsh rugby circles. Gatland, who was Wales boss between 2007 and 2019 before deciding on a contract, is the leading contender to make a spectacular return. Pivac's future will be one of the main topics of discussion at a WRU board meeting today (MON), in which the first order of order will be to appoint a new chairman.