Wales coach Warren Gatland admits success in his first period in charge might have papered over the cracks of Welsh rugby.

Gatland returned to replace Wayne Pivac in December 2022.

Wales are ninth in the world rankings and Welsh rugby is in turmoil off the field.

This has come to a head this week with players threatening to strike for Saturday’s Six Nations match against England until the issue was resolved three days before the game.

On the field, Wales have made their worst start to the Six Nations tournament since 2007 with heavy defeats against Ireland and Scotland.

“Now that I reflect back on it and look back on the first period I was here, a lot of these issues were going on but the fact we had been reasonably successful as a national side probably papered over the cracks a little bit,” said Gatland.

“It was stopping the dam from busting. The dam has burst now. It’s burst because the regions feel they are underfunded and haven’t got the success the players want.

“As a national side we’re not being successful. The desire to play for Wales and be in Wales potentially isn’t as strong as it was.

“Winning and success often hides away some of the issues that are going on behind the scenes.

“Maybe there were people disgruntled in the past, but now it’s been highlighted by the fact there are maybe a number of players who are thinking do they want to play their rugby in Wales.

“With us as a national side not going well in the first couple of games, they’re probably looking at other potential opportunities overseas.”

Wales preparations have been disrupted by the off-the-field turmoil with Gatland admitting he wished the situation had been sorted sooner.

“There has been a certain amount of uncertainty and meetings that have been taking place,” said Gatland.

“It’s been challenging for everyone. When players are having meetings and it’s only them involved and you’re not quite sure of their demands which are being made and everything comes to a head.

“I support the players in terms of the action that was taken. I suppose young men are sometimes a little bit impulsive in terms of there could probably have been a period where they could have laid down their demands to be done by this time.

“It came quickly and there was a lot of pressure put on the Union and the regions to get things resolved because they’d [the players] finally decided they’d had enough.

“Maybe there could have been a little bit more warning but that’s the way it is and they made those calls.

“They’re pretty happy with the outcome and what’s going to happen.

“I understand the regions are going to be offering full contracts starting from next week which is brilliant.”

One of the sticking points was the 60-cap rule that has been reduced to 25.

The players wanted the minimum 60-cap Test selection rule for people plying their trade outside the country to be scrapped but it was reduced in a compromise.

“It’s not what they wanted in terms of the reduction of the 60-cap rule to 25 but that’s still positive from their point of view,” added Gatland.

“There are still players who would have wanted the 60-cap rule to have gone away completely but it’s like anything with any negotiation, there is always some middle ground and some compromise.”