Wales coach Warren Gatland has addressed the allegations of a 'toxic culture' at the Welsh Rugby Union, saying there are 'always two sides to every story'.
A BBC programme airing on Monday night sees former employees of the WRU claim the organisation has a "toxic culture" in which one staff member used a racist term in a meeting and another said he wanted to "rape" a female colleague. The WRU insist that an investigation was carried out and the allegations remain unsubstantiated. You can read details of the allegations and the WRU's full response here.
With Gatland facing the media at the Six Nations launch on Monday, the returning Wales coach was asked about the allegations and whether the culture described was one that he recognised.
"I can only speak from experience," said Gatland. "It's difficult when you're in a team environment, that's the only dealings you get, with your coaches and players on a daily basis.
"Those things only came to light to me over the last few days. I was pretty unaware of everything and I'm just trying to get up to date with everything as well.
"All I can say is, it's easy to ask those questions but there's always two sides to every story. You probably know more about it than I do."
In a separate broadcast interview with the BBC, Gatland said: "For me it's something I don't know a lot about, I've been away since the World Cup in 2019.
"I've not really read too much of the press about things. It's like anything, there's two sides to every story and I hope you'd get a balance in terms of both sides being represented in the proper way."
The Wales coach, who has returned for his second spell in the job having previously taken charge of Wales between 2008 and 2019, was also asked about how important a strong culture was.
"I think that's always one of the most important things, in terms of creating a positive culture in the squad," he added. "I always talk about the importance of family and what that means.
"I'm a great believer in not just talking the talk, but walking the walk and getting the balance right on and off the field. If you do that with a no-excuse environment, you can provide the best facilities you possibly can and some quality coaching, you give the guys the right balance and hopefully you get some good performances out of the players."
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