ROB Howley has been appointed as caretaker boss of Wales after Warren Gatland was confirmed as head coach of the British and Irish Lions.

Gatland is in charge for the tour to New Zealand next summer after successfully leading the Lions to glory in Australia in 2013.

He has temporarily stepped down from his role as Wales head coach with his right-hand man Howley stepping up, just as he did when winning the Six Nations three years ago.

The former scrum-half said: “I’m delighted, proud and extremely excited to be named Wales head coach for this period.

“I would like to congratulate Warren on his thoroughly deserved selection and the honour of being named head coach for a second successive Lions tour.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being head coach in 2012 and 2013 and I’m excited to have the challenge once again and I would like to thank the WRU for this opportunity.

“We kick off four back-to-back matches in Cardiff with Australia first up on November 5 and not only is the Under Armour series important for us on the field, the 2019 RWC seedings will be decided upon post 2017 Six Nations, so each match is vitally important to us looking forward and ahead to that competition."

WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips said: “We considered a range of options domestically and overseas when contingency planning for this eventuality and determined that Rob represents the optimum appointment for Wales.

“Rob’s experience and relationship with the regional coaches affords the opportunity for a joined-up approach, which will be of an important benefit for the game in Wales.

“The opportunity for coaches to continue to develop and learn is critical for our future success. It is important we have a strong Welsh contingent to our coaching team and that learnings on the international stage benefit the game here in Wales.”