Former Wales assistant coach Rob Howley has made a public apology after being banned from rugby for 18 months following a breach of betting rules.
Howley placed total of 363 bets spanning 1,163 matches in total from 14 November 2015 to 7 September 2019, which led to him being sent home from the World Cup.
On Monday, he was handed a ban by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), backdated to September 16, and with half of the sentence suspended.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, Howley said: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all those close to me and everyone this has affected, especially the rugby community, close colleagues and, above all, my family.
“I am extremely private man and unfortunately it was this that kept me silent as I battled my demons following my sister’s tragic death.
“The last few months have been immensely tough, and continued help will allow me to find the right path back to rugby which has always been my true passion.
"I am immensely grateful for the faith and support I’ve received from everybody close to me.”
In his statement, Howley said he had admitted to his betting offences at the “first available opportunity” and that he had shown “deep felt and genuine remorse” over the incident, which denied him acting as Warren Gatland’s right-hand man at the World Cup in Japan.
Howley, 49, has since been receiving help from a psychologist, who diagnosed that the trigger for his betting had been the death of his sister.
The former Wales and British Lions scrum-half was replaced as Wales back coach just six days before the start of their World Cup campaign.
