Hansen steps into Welsh hot seat as local candidates wait

Internal links

Henry admits suffering from Wales burn-out

Contenders for Wales coach

Steve Hansen would feel rather more comfortable right now if he came from Newport rather than New Zealand and had spent more time clambering up Erw y Ddafad-ddu than climbing the All Black coaching ladder. Hansen is a serious operator – he has the medals to prove it – but unless he wins four internationals on the bounce and gives Wales a share of the Six Nations title, his employers are likely to appoint a Red Dragon native to the top job just as soon as the tournament draws its final breath.

Wales for the Welsh? History suggests that the locals are no better at seeing out their Arms Park contracts than southern hemisphere imports like Graham Henry and Alec Evans. No Welsh coach has reached the end of his allotted time for more than 20 years, and the Principality is full of shallow graves bearing the remains of ambitious and idealistic rugby tacticians who succumbed to the inevitable. John Lloyd, Tony Gray, Ron Waldron, Alan Davies, Kevin Bowring... it is some list, to be sure. However, the overwhelming feeling around the valleys is that the next long-term coach should be a long-term Welshman, rather than an ersatz version from south of the equator.

Gareth Jenkins may or may not want to hear this, but he is suddenly the most popular boyo since Aneurin Bevan. From Rodney Parade in the east to St Helen's in the west, there is scarcely a rugby supporter who does not believe he should be the next coach of Wales. He speaks the language, does Jenkins: when he talks of pride and honesty and commitment to the flag – all the things Henry's team transparently failed to produce in Dublin five days ago – his players listen. Llanelli have bought into the Jenkins philosophy in recent weeks, and have claimed two prize English scalps as a result.

This is not an open-and-shut case, though. As one influential member of the Welsh management team said yesterday: "Gareth's supporters should find out whether he actually wants the job before they get too carried away. He's been here before, remember, so he understands the pressure that accompanies the position. Also, he is very much a Llanelli animal, and things are going wonderfully well for him down there."

If Llanelli should finish this season as European champions – they play a semi-final against Leicester in April and will not fear the Midlanders, having beaten them out of sight at Stradey Park last month – Jenkins might look favourably on the Welsh job, on the basis that he would have nothing left to prove as a club coach. There again, his experience working alongside Davies in the mid-1990s might have poisoned the well. On balance, however, an approach at the right time, carrying the right salary and a large degree of independence would appeal to his competitive instinct.

Phil Davies, a former national captain who played under Jenkins at Llanelli, is seen by many as the underside of the dream ticket. Leeds, his current club, have prospered under his guidance: the fact that they are fighting for their Premiership future is not remotely surprising, given the chasm that separates the English second division, which they inhabited last season, from the top bracket. Davies' supporters, of whom there are many, can point to victories over Bath, Saracens, Leicester and Harlequins this term – a more significant haul than anyone at Headingley dared imagine at the start of the campaign.

A Jenkins-Davies partnership? Wales could do worse. It would cost the union a packet in compensation, but if Henry can earn £250,000 a year, anything is possible.