All things being equal, if the Welsh rugby had money to burn and had their pick of coaches out there, Simon Easterby would be the obvious choice to succeed Warren Gatland as their next full-time appointment.
The WRU have confirmed that Gatland has left his post as the Welsh head coach with immediate effect by “mutual agreement” and, as events would have it, their next game will be against Ireland in round three of the Six Nations on Saturday week at the Principality Stadium.
That will inevitably heighten speculation that the WRU would covet Easterby as Gatland’s long-term successor. He won’t enjoy being in the forefront of the media eye next week and no doubt he will give any questions about the matter the straightest of straight bats.
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But the WRU have confirmed that Gatland’s interim replacement for the rest of the Six Nations, Cardiff’s Matt Sherratt, will return to the region after the Championship and added: “Our intention is to have a permanent appointment in place before this summer’s two-Test tour to Japan, with all options open.”
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To that end, Easterby is already being mentioned among a shortlist which also includes Glasgow’s Franco Smith and Leicester’s Michael Cheika, but the former Ireland flanker looks the standout candidate.
For starters, one of the consequences of having a system that largely works, and particularly an international team that has been consistently punching above its weight for the last few years near the top of the world rankings, is that the people within the set-up become more prized assets.
Easterby has been an integral part of a golden era for the Irish team as an assistant coach over the last 11 seasons. He spent seven seasons as forwards coach before switching to defence coach for the last four and has, so far, also seamlessly assumed the head coach role while Andy Farrell is on his Lions sabbatical.
In that time, Ireland have won four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and earned notable wins at home and away against all four Rugby Championship teams, as well as rising to number one in the world rankings. Easterby has also been head coach on two Emerging Ireland tours to South Africa and is widely respected as an intelligent, likable and excellent coach.
Yorkshire-born to an Irish mother and English father, Easterby has a long association with Welsh rugby, having joined Llanelli from Leeds Tykes in 1999 and remained with the Scarlets, captaining them for five seasons, until retiring in 2010.
He swiftly became the Scarlets' defence coach for two seasons and then succeeded Nigel Davies as head coach for another two seasons before being appointed as Ireland forwards coach in place of the departing John Plumtree in July 2014.
Easterby still lives in Wales with his wife, TV presenter Sarra Elgan Rees, and their two children, Soffia and Fredi. Elgan Rees is a fluent Welsh speaker and the daughter of ex-rugby player Elgan Rees who played for Neath, Wales and the British & Irish Lions, while the former Scarlets and Wales full back Matt Cardey was best man at their wedding.
Easterby is enjoying his first Six Nations as a head coach and most assistant coaches have ambitions to step up to that role on a full-time basis. So, on several levels, if ever there was a temptation for Easterby to step into a full-time head coaching role, the Welsh job would have an emotional appeal.
From the WRU’s viewpoint, not only is Easterby steeped in Wales and Welsh rugby, but they must look on enviously at Ireland’s success. What better way of tapping into that intellectual property than by hiring someone who has worked under Joe Schmidt and Farrell for the last decade?
However, even if the WRU identify Easterby as their preferred choice, there are, of course, a few stumbling blocks in the way of this coming to pass.
First and foremost, would Easterby be of a mind to leave an Irish set-up which he enjoys and in which he thrives? Gatland may be carrying the can for the current run of 14 defeats but after a golden generation which the Kiwi led to three Grand Slams, three World Cup quarter-finals and a semi-final, the Welsh talent pool has run relatively dry.
This is the product of years of mismanagement at regional level and nor does the future look especially bountiful. Their Under-20s beat Italy 20-18 in Treviso last weekend, but that was only Wales’ fourth win in their last 17 Six Nations matches in the age group. A week beforehand, their 63-19 defeat to France was more in keeping with recent times.
Easterby is currently working with a well-cultivated, well-managed international squad who are the reigning, back-to-back Six Nations champions. Currently ranked second in the world, this Ireland team are also halfway through a World Cup cycle in which they will be one of the candidates to win the competition.
Wales slipped to an all-time low of 12th in the world rankings over the weekend, dropping below Georgia after their 22-15 defeat to Italy in Rome, and are currently ahead of Japan, whom they face next summer in a two-match tour. With the best will in the world, Wales will not be contenders to win the next World Cup.
Easterby is also under contract until the next World Cup, meaning that in addition to paying off Gatland, the cash-strapped WRU would have to compensate the IRFU for his early release. Either that, or the IRFU would have to partially or fully release Easterby from his contract.
Stuart Lancaster is another who might come into the reckoning, as might the current Leinster forwards coach and former Welsh hooker Robin McBryde.
In the short-term, as well as the potential bounce from a new head coach, Gatland’s departure and the temporary appointment of Sherratt will make Wales more difficult to analyse in the build-up to the round three clash in Cardiff.
