Win-win as Jockey goes on secondment

As ever when the Welsh Rugby Union come calling wanting something from Cardiff or taking something into the national team set up, the natural response is to tell them to “piss off”.

So when the news broke on Tuesday morning that Warren Gatland was mutually agreeing to step down as Head Coach of the men’s national team, and that Matt Sherratt was the rumoured interim replacement for the remainder of the Six Nations, it was no surprise that it was met with at best a suspicion and at worst an outrage at the unfolding of the events.

Perhaps though the rhetoric regarding the WRU and the four professional clubs in Wales being more aligned is beginning to have some substance behind it, or maybe it was just Cardiff getting a clear narrative behind the decision out there early, either way the whole situation was handled very well with supporters left in no doubt that this is a good thing for Cymru and the Blue & Blacks.

From a Cardiff perspective it is confirmed that Sherratt has signed a long-term deal, his assistant coaches are also set to sign new deals, and in his own words “(the Wales job) is not something I’ll be putting my name forward for”. He gets a great learning opportunity, only misses one game in charge of the club, and we are very helpful to the WRU and the national team.

There is a risk that Jockey finds himself in the slightly awkward position of dropping or not selecting Blue & Blacks for the national team before returning to work with them at club level, but this is balanced out by the fact that our internationals now get a month of working in a healthy and positive environment rather than being Warrenballed to death.

And that leads on into what Cymru get out of it, which is a great coach, environment setter and people manager at a time when the men’s national team is at its lowest point this millennium.

Everywhere Sherratt has been and everyone he has worked with has the same thing to say about the former Gloucester fly-half, that being just how good his man management is. With his teaching background, work in Academies and then stepping up as assistant coach at numerous clubs he has the ability to deal with players of all ages and abilities.

Nowhere was that more evident than his ascension to the Head Coach role at Cardiff. Coming in at a time where Dai Young’s second stint at the club ended under a cloud, and the playing group was shrouded in uncertainty, he managed to foster an environment where young players felt confident to showcase their abilities and senior players enjoyed the style of rugby.

He also connected with the supporters in a way that seemed personal without actually going around and speaking individually to everyone in the stands and on the terraces. Through club communications and the media he was honest and transparent about the situation and the aims for the season, and managed to take the Arms Park regulars on the journey with the team back to being competitive.

Finally, Sherratt is a very good coach. His clear and consistent overall approach to games, the detail in his attack, the trust in his assistants and the confidence he gives the players have meant that Cardiff are a significantly better outfit now than at the point where he took over, and continue to improve as we strive to return to regularly competing at the business end of campaigns.

It’s no surprise that Cymru have turned to Jockey, and on paper at least it is absolutely the correct call. Whilst being underpowered in comparison to their Six Nations opposition, there still exists a skill level and dynamism within the playing group that can unlock better performances and inspire hope and optimism among supporters again.

There is no danger of contradiction, deflection or scapegoating as we saw during the previous regime. Supporters will know exactly what to expect from the team across these final three rounds of the tournament, and be able to cling from the positives within that despite what is highly likely to be three further defeats and a second successive wooden spoon.

This team is young but exciting, so putting a young and exciting coach in charge of them is absolutely the blueprint the WRU should follow. There is no overnight fix to the position the team is in, but with some patient growth we can be competitive for the 2027 Six Nations and into that year’s Rugby World Cup.

Sherratt is the start, but it’ll mean nothing if the Union get the Director of Rugby and permanent Head Coach appointments wrong.