Gatland signs four-year Welsh deal

Former Ireland boss Warren Gatland has been appointed as Wales' new coach on a four-year contract.

The 44-year-old New Zealander - a former All Blacks hooker - was unveiled at a Millennium Stadium press conference today.

He becomes Wales' third Kiwi coach of rugby's professional era, following Graham Henry and Steve Hansen.

Gatland, who led Wasps to a hat-trick of Premiership titles from 2003 to 2005 and landed Heineken Cup glory with the Londoners in 2004, succeeds Gareth Jenkins.

Jenkins was sacked in September following a dismal World Cup campaign when Wales failed to progress beyond the pool stage, losing their final game against Fiji in Nantes.

Jenkins' World Cup assistant Nigel Davies will take charge for the one-off Test against world champions South Africa in Cardiff on November 24th.

Gatland's deal, which is thought to be in excess of £1m, will incorporate the 2011 World Cup in his native New Zealand.

He will return home after this weekend, and will be back in Wales from early December to begin his new job.

Gatland said: "This is a great honour, and I feel a tremendous sense of pride in having been chosen as the new head coach of Wales.

"I have been given the opportunity to coach at the highest level, and I am very grateful to get this chance.

"There is a lot of hard work ahead, but I know there is enormous talent in Wales and I feel extremely positive about what can be achieved.

"My aim is to leave Welsh rugby in a much better state when I finish here than it is at the start of my career as Wales coach.

"I want that success to be based on strong foundations, and I will be seeking to work closely with the regional coaches to achieve my aims.

"There is a huge amount of potential here to take the game forward, and the regional sides in Wales are now beginning to get better and better."

Welsh rugby chiefs launched a world-wide search to find Jenkins' successor, and they revealed that Gatland emerged as their first choice candidate early on.

Gatland added: "Wales is the sleeping giant of world rugby, and I want to put in the right structures and processes to make sure we achieve our full potential."

"It is not my style to hiss and roar at the start, so I will initially be doing a lot of watching and talking to understand exactly what needs to be done.

"My priorities are clearly defined, with the short term goal to ensure we put the right things in place to face England in the Six Nations (on February 2nd) and in the long term, I will be working to develop a team for the next Rugby World Cup in 2011."