Wales players were given an integrity briefing the morning after news broke Rob Howley had been sent home from the Rugby World Cup for a suspected breach of betting rules.
Howley, the Wales attack coach, left their camp in Japan on Monday to allow an investigation into a possible breach of World Rugby’s regulation six, which covers gambling and anti-corruption, to begin. It rocked Warren Gatland’s camp ahead of their tournament opener with Georgia.
The Wales squad were then reminded of their responsibilities by World Rugby. The briefing was prearranged as part of the tournament’s rules and not held in direct response to Howley’s departure. World Rugby has given similar advice to all World Cup teams, and Wales hooker Ken Owens believes Gatland’s players are more than clear on their responsibilities.
“All the boys get integrity briefings and reminders every season in terms of anti-doping, betting, and all the rest of it. Everyone is aware,” Owens said.
“It’s pretty clear. We had an integrity briefing the day after the announcement with Rob. We all know where we stand. The Welsh Rugby Players Association have had a new chief executive start last week and I’m sure he’ll get across all of that in the next week or so.”
Owens – who is the chairman of the WRPA – is one of Wales’ most experienced players and the senior figures in Gatland’s squad have stepped up in the wake of Howley’s departure.
“It’s been difficult. It’s been a bit of a shell shock to the boys,” Owens said. “We haven’t had time to reflect or dwell too much on it because we have got a job to do. As harsh as it sounds, that’s what we’re here to do and that’s what the focus has been for the last two years.
“We heard the news on the day off, we’ve had two training days, and they’ve been pretty sharp. We’ve just got on with it. Monday is a massive game against Georgia. We’ve all spoken, as we did at the start of the tournament, about there being no excuses.
“We’re never short of a little bit of adversity in Welsh rugby or a story breaking in a match week. We’ve just had to get on with it and use it as a galvanising force. That’s all we can do.”
Wales were given a day off on Friday ahead of Gatland naming his team to face Georgia on Saturday.
In the Six Nations, Wales put the controversial abandonment of a proposed merger between two of the country’s sides – Scarlets and Ospreys – to one side and went on to win the Grand Slam.
They plan to circle the wagons again in similar fashion in Toyota where they face Georgia. Stephen Jones has arrived here to replace Howley as attack coach.
Neil Jenkins, the Wales skills coach and former halfback partner of Howley, said: “I have spoken to Rob. He was OK. I don’t want to say any more. It is pretty private as far as I am concerned.
“We are desperate for a match. If I am brutally honest, I wish we were playing tomorrow. I can’t wait to get going. It is obviously very difficult. He (Howley) is a very close friend of mine. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is. It’s happened and we have to move forward.”