"I am really excited about the opportunity to come back home"
Friday 28 June 2019 07:37, UK
Wales and British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland has been confirmed as the new coach of the Chiefs in Super Rugby.
The 55-year-old will return to his native Hamilton in New Zealand - where the Chiefs are based - after the Rugby World Cup to take charge of the Super Rugby side.
Gatland will be allowed miss the 2021 season so he can prepare to lead the British and Irish Lions for a third time when they tour South Africa.
Gatland, who was a technical advisor for the Chiefs in 2006, spent his entire playing career with Waikato and had a two-year stint as coach prior to taking charge of Wales in 2007.
He will return to the region after Colin Cooper resigned as Chiefs head coach following their Super Rugby quarter-final defeat to Los Jaguares last weekend.
Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins said on Thursday he had been in discussions with Cooper for several weeks, allowing a search for a new coach to begin "discreetly" while the season continued.
Gatland has coached Wales for 12 years since 2007 and has been Lions head coach in 2013 and 2017, when they drew a three-test series in New Zealand.
On returning to his hometown, Gatland said: "I am really excited about the opportunity to come back home. The opportunity to come back as head coach of the Chiefs is something that I am really looking forward to.
"The Chiefs are well known for the success they've had both on and off the field and the really loyal support they have from everyone within the Chiefs region."
