Shock Premiership contender emerges for Wales head coach job

Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam has emerged as a shock contender to take over as Wales boss to replace Warren Gatland after a spanner was thrown in the works for the red-hot favourite for the job, Michael Cheika.

Cheika, who is leaving Leicester Tigers after only a season in the Welford Road hot seat when his contract runs out this summer, was installed as the bookies’ favourite as soon as Gatland lost his job last month following a defeat to Italy.

The former Australia and Argentina coach is understood to have expressed an interest in moving to Wales but has since held video calls with Racing 92 about taking over at the La Défense Arena next season.

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Patrice Collazo was brought in when Stuart Lancaster left Racing in January, but he is unlikely to stay beyond the summer, and Cheika, who has been looking at potential jobs in France, is near the top of their shopping list.

Someone with Cheika’s profile was always going to attract serious interest, and Wales, who have suffered 15 successive defeats and who want to recruit a head coach and director of rugby, were never going to have a clear path.

The WRU are looking for alternatives, and Lam, 56, who started his coaching career as an assistant with Scotland in 2003, has spent the last eight years in charge at Ashton Gate.

He is under contract until 2028 after signing a five-year extension in 2021 but has been unable to win the Premiership or European Champions Cup that he won as a player with Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints, respectively.

Ironically, Lam, part of the Samoa side that shocked Wales in the 1999 World Cup, has gushed to the Bristol Bears YouTube channel about his love for the Principality Stadium ahead of his side’s clash with Bath in the Welsh capital.

“The pool was wide open, and we had to win this against Wales, who were coached by my old mentor Graham Henry, and they had gone 10 games unbeaten, beating all of the top nations.

“And we came up with a plan of how to beat them. It was basically just go for it. We were 12-3 down but clawed our way back in and scored some brilliant tries.

“It is, to me, the best stadium in the world. It is right on top of you. And when the roof is closed, the noise just doubles in volume. It’s just a brilliant place,” said Lam ahead of the Bears Big Day Out on May 10th.