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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Katie Sands

Warren Gatland's heartfelt thank you message to Wales after emotional address to players

An emotional Warren Gatland sent a farewell message to all of Wales ahead of his last home game in charge of the national side before the Rugby World Cup.

After 12 years in charge, the Wales boss made the trip to the Principality Stadium with his coaches and squad for the final time on Saturday.

Speaking before Wales' 2.30pm kick-off against Ireland, Gatland issued a touching thanks to those who have made his time in Wales special and admitted he became emotional during his pre-match address at the team hotel.

When asked if he was feeling emotional, the Kiwi told Channel 4: "Probably at the hotel beforehand, I got a little bit emotional talking to the players, which took me a bit by surprise.

"We spoke as coaches about our last trip here, and it's been an incredible ride and an incredible journey with the coaches and the management.

"I just want to say thank you to Wales as well, to the people that have made it special, and hopefully we can enjoy today."

Wales take on Ireland today in their penultimate Rugby World Cup warm-up, with their final pre-tournament match coming next week in Dublin. You can follow live updates on today's game here.

Wayne Pivac takes over as Wales coach after the global tournament in Japan.

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