The Wales coaches discarded by Warren Gatland who…

The Wales coaches discarded by Warren Gatland who still have loads to offer and could return to Welsh rugby

Rewind the clocks back to the autumn of 2015 and England have been unceremoniously dumped out of their own World Cup at the pool stage.

The Rugby Football Union are left with egg on their faces, and as is the way in professional sport, somebody has to pay the ultimate price for this unacceptable failure.

Surprise surprise it's the coaching team who are thrown under the bus with Stuart Lancaster, Andy Farrell, Mike Catt, and Graham Rowntree shown the door.

As Johnny Cash said “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone."

Despite the widespread criticism they received at the time all in question have bounced back to prove their qualities as coaches, with Farrell arguably the best in the world at this moment in time, while Lancaster has done a tremendous job with Leinster.

What on earth has this got to do with Welsh rugby?

Well, it's been five months since the Wayne Pivac era came to an abrupt end, following a poor autumn campaign which included a first ever home defeat to Georgia.

But it wasn't just Pivac who lost his job it was Gethin Jenkins, and Stephen Jones as well.

Don't get me wrong I'm not absolving them of all blame, and it's perfectly understandable why Warren Gatland chose to freshen up his back-room team upon returning as head coach in December.

Many people won't agree, but Jenkins and Jones are excellent coaches who still have a lot to offer Welsh rugby.

Cast your minds back some five years and plenty were crying out for Jones to be appointed Wales attack coach such was the way his Scarlets side were tearing to shreds some of the meanest defences in Europe.

The former Wales and Lions outside-half was the mastermind behind the Scarlets' stunning 2017 PRO12 title triumph, and the world appeared to be at his feet.

Things didn't go to plan when he stepped up to the national job as Pivac's assistant. There were moments where Wales' attack clicked but it was far too inconsistent, and by the end it had become ineffective.

But there are other things which contribute to at attack faltering such as the forwards not being able to get over the gain-line, and slow ruck ball which were present during a large part of Pivac's era.

Yes, Jones has to take a fair share of the blame but you don't turn into a bad coach overnight, and the 45-year-old could still do a very good job as an attack coach at a top European club.

Jenkins is another one who should have a future as a professional rugby coach. The defence was patchy during his short stint with the national side, but there were times such as last summer's tour of South Africa where it was pretty effective.

Jones and Jenkins will have learned heaps from coaching, and indeed failing at Test level. They will be better for it.

There is a vacancy in David Young's backroom team at Cardiff due to incumbent defence coach Richard Hodges deciding to move on at the end of the season. Finances are painfully tight at the Arms Park but Jenkins would be the perfect fit for the role, and could really improve their performances next season.

With the future of Scarlets attack coach Lee Blackett uncertain, the west Walians could do a lot worse than pick up the phone to that bloke who played an integral role the last time they won silverware.

Take a look at some of the best coaches in the world over the past 20 years. Graham Henry and Steve Hansen endured some horrible times with Wales to put it mildly, yet each went on to lead New Zealand to World Cup success and are widely regarded as two of the greatest coaches of the modern era.

I'm not for one minute suggesting Jones and Jenkins are in that bracket, but us Welsh have a very odd way of dealing with failure.

This isn't always the case but for most great coaches failure is but a step on the path to success.

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