Former Wales scrumhalf Mike Phillips has questioned whether the Welsh Rugby Union made the right call re-hiring Warren Gatland as head coach.

Gatland returned to Wales this season after Wayne Pivac was axed following a disappointing 2022 campaign, but the former British & Irish Lions boss has not inspired much of a turnaround in results less than a year on.

His comeback has been clouded by off-field drama, and has overseen just one win from four matches for the Welsh Dragons’ in the 2023 Six Nations.

Gatland, who took charge of two successful B&I Lions tours during his time with Wales, was in charge for three World Cups, reaching the semi-final stages on two occasions (2011 and 2019) and took Wales to the top of World Rugby’s rankings – for the first time – by virtue of a record 14-match unbeaten run during his final season.

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But, in a wide-ranging interview on RugbyRama, the 94-Test-capped Phillips did not mince words on the Kiwi’s return to the top job in Welsh rugby.

“It’s a good thing for him. He has a good contract, with a lot of money at stake,” he said. “He had a great time with Wales, it was he who won us three Grand Slams, but I think we should have chosen a different coach.

“No-one is forever, you can’t play or coach forever for Wales, you should have moved on. But the problem is not so much the coach’s choice, the problem is how we got to this situation.

“The federation could have taken the best coach in the world but I don’t think the team would have won more.”

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