Young sings Wales the Blues
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:01
Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young has declared himself unavailable as caretaker coach of Wales, should current Wales boss Warren Gatland get the job as coach for the 2009 British and Irish Lions.
Gatland and his assistant coaches, Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley, are among the front-runners to be at the helm of the Lions for their mid-year tour of South Africa next year.
At the same time, Wales will be touring North America, and will be in need of a caretaker coach, should Gatland and his team be appointed with the Lions.
But Young has stated that his club commitments with Magners League outfit Cardiff Blues will take priority.
"Blues is my job and I certainly wouldn't risk affecting that job by being on the Wales tour," Young told the BBC Sport.
"I'm 100 percent behind Wales and everything they do, but the Blues are my main focus. I wouldn't do anything to risk the support of the players here towards myself.
"I feel if I go on tour and don't pick my own players it could put their support under threat.
"That's because I'd have to come back here and try and tell them they are the men for the job and can lead the fight for the Blues - they can start to doubt you."
Young did however concede that he would be very happy with a job on the Lions coaching staff.
"I don't think anybody who is coaching doesn't have Lions ambitions. But at the end of the day, that's totally out of my hands.
"My focus is on the Blues and always has been, so I just get on with my job here and if it did come my way, happy days.
"If you listen to a lot of people, the decision is going in different directions and good luck to anybody who gets it.
"Hopefully we will get a couple of Welsh staff in there."
