Warren Gatland has confirmed he will not coach the British & Irish Lions in 2025, as he backed Andy Farrell to take charge for the tour to Australia.
The Wales head coach has led the Lions for each of the past three tours, overseeing a 2-1 series win in Australia in 2013 and a 1-1 draw in New Zealand four years later. Gatland then took the squad to South Africa in 2021, when the Lions fell to a narrow 2-1 series defeat against world champions South Africa.
The Lions face Australia in three Tests between July 19-August 2 2025, with those matches taking place in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
No coach has ever led four successive Lions tours and Gatland will not be the first to do so, after he announced he has not put himself forward for the job in two years' time.
"A few weeks ago, I was asked by Nigel Walker, Wales' director of rugby, if I was interested in putting my name forward to be head coach for the next tour in Australia in 2025," Gatland wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"It did not take long to get back to him. I told him I was not going to put my name forward. I told Nigel that I would have no problem if any of my support staff were to be asked to be involved as I would see it as a great experience for them."
Gatland has instead thrown his support behind Farrell, who has led Ireland to the top of the world rankings. A 17-match unbeaten included a first ever series win in New Zealand last summer, though the All Blacks got revenge as they ended Ireland's winning streak with a thrilling World Cup quarter-final win earlier this month.
Farrell was the defence coach for the Lions in 2013 and 2017 as he worked alongside Gatland, and he now appears to be leading the race for the main job.
“Andy Farrell would have my backing for the job,” Gatland said.
“You cannot deny what Ireland has achieved as a nation over the last few years and you are starting to see the fruition of the alignment between the Irish provinces and the union. There is no doubt that Andy has done a fantastic job.
“Even though Ireland lost their quarter-final to New Zealand, it was an epic match and it could have gone either way. And that is sport. Everyone always just looks at results rather than what teams have achieved and the progress they have made.
"Andy has got really good man-management skills, has huge experience in the game as a professional from a young age in rugby league and I have a huge amount of respect for him as a person and as a coach.”
Having been Wales' head coach for 12 years until his departure in 2019, Gatland returned to the role in December last year as he was tasked with turning the team's terrible form around heading into the World Cup. He led them out of the pool stage, in doing so beating Australia in comprehensive fashion, before Wales' run was ended by Argentina in the last-eight.
Gatland has insisted he remains committed to his current role and intends to lead Wales at the 2027 World Cup, while he is also keen to help the next Lions head coach if called upon for advice.
“If the next head coach wants to tap into my experiences from the last four tours, then I would still love to be involved in some way by passing on the knowledge and experience I have gained in trying to create harmony within a group of players from different backgrounds," Gatland said.
