Matt Sherratt: Who is Wales' new caretaker head coach after Warren Gatland departure?
2025-02-12
Category: sports

The thought of an Englishman coaching Wales would normally have been too much to bare for many a fan - but these are dark times for Welsh rugby.Trapped in the grip of the worst losing run in its 144-year history, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has done the seemingly unthinkable by appointing its first English head coach.Tony Gray, born in Stoke, led Wales between 1985 and 1988 but had twice worn the Three Feathers on his chest. But Matt Sherratt is seen as the ideal motivational figure who, if nothing else, can lift spirits within the Wales camp for the remainder of the Six Nations.Born in Gloucester within a drop-kick of Kingsholm, Sherratt grew up in a household that was fiercely divided on rugby days between an English father and his Tredegar-born mother.So it was perhaps inevitable that his coaching career would straddle Offa's Dyke.
'People person'
Having cut his teeth at Gloucester and Cheltenham, Sherratt spent four years at Worcester Warriors academy, before becoming an attack specialist for Bristol, Ospreys and Cardiff before being handed his first head coach role at the Arms Park just 20 months ago.With his teaching background, Sherratt has gained a reputation as a man-manager, a motivator and a mentor for young players.Last season alone, the likes of Cam Winnett, Mason Grady, Ellis Bevan, Alex Mann, Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti, Evan Lloyd, Efan Daniel and Mackenzie Martin all graduated under Sherratt at Cardiff to the national team."He is very well spoken of, a real people-person and man-manager and we felt, right now, that was a really important criteria and meant he could hit the ground running in the middle of the Six Nations," explained WRU chief executive Abi Tierney.
Sherratt said he could not turn down the offer that came out of the blue on Monday night but has already ruled himself out of the job beyond the Six Nations, having recently signed a long-term deal with Cardiff.His first task is to decide the future of his backroom staff, including Rob Howley who, ironically, handed him the Wales attack coach job between 2016 and 2017.Then he has roughly four training sessions with the beleaguered Wales squad to try and repair their decimated confidence enough to put up some sort of contest against the reigning Six Nations champions Ireland in Cardiff on 22 February.
Looking a little shell-shocked at Tuesday's WRU press conference and dressed in his Cardiff gear, he said: "I've been in sport long enough to know it's pretty bumpy and you're never going to be offered an opportunity when things are going well. "It feels like when I started at Cardiff, who were also at a low ebb, so I told Abi the first thing to start with is a mindset shift."It's going to be very difficult to change a huge amount technically and tactically in such a short period, but we've got to put some structures in place that everyone buys into and then have a really positive attitude."There are experienced players in that dressing room and if I go in there talking about trying our best and performance then you've lost the room immediately. They're international players for a reason and they want to win."
Inspired by 12-year-old son
Bizarrely, it could be the experience of a 12-year-old boy that shapes how Wales play for the rest of this championship.Sherratt told a story of taking his sports-mad son to a Premier League match at Liverpool, a Hundred cricket game at Glamorgan and then an unnamed rugby match in Wales."At the rugby match he asked if we could leave at 55 minutes. It was a kick-fest. I actually thought, 'how sad is it that there is a 12-year-old who loves sport and wants to leave the game'," Sherratt recalled."I'm at the stage of my career when it's important to me that people want to enjoy watching a team play - but not at the expense of losing, that's really important."But I want players to go out and be brave and if there is a 50-50 on then take a brave option."
Former Wales centre Ashley Beck worked under Sherratt at Worcester."He [Sherratt] knows it's more than just rugby, it's about people as well," he said."He gets into the nuts and bolts of what makes people tick, even having fun sometimes."At this point maybe that's what the squad needs - to relax, enjoy training and playing at international level, and then hopefully performances will get better."Right now, after 14 successive Test defeats, Welsh rugby would do anything to raise a smile once more.