When and why did Rob Howley leave Wales coaching job?
Get the latest news, analysis and interviews Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  Rob Howley will make his return to the Principality Stadium when Wales take on Canada on Saturday. The former British and Irish Lions star is now an assistant coach in Kingsley Jones' setup with Canada having been Warren Gatland's long-time deputy with his home country. Howley played 59 times for Wales between 1996 and 2002 during a glittering playing career and became attack coach in 2008. The former scrum-half also took charge in a caretaker capacity twice when Gatland was on British and Irish Lions duty in the 2012-13 and 2016-17 campaigns, famously leading the side to the Six Nations title in 2013 after a thumping 30-3 win over Grand-Slam hopefuls England. He was also part of the Lions coaching setup for three successive tours in 2009, 2013 and 2017. But his long association with Wales came to an abrupt and sorry end. Just six days before Wales' opening 2019 World Cup game against Georgia, Howley was sent home from Japan for an alleged breach of World Rugby's betting and anti-corruption laws. He was replaced by Stephen Jones, who was already lined up to be part of current head coach Wayne Pivac's staff. The WRU statement said at the time: "Rob Howley has returned to Wales to assist with an investigation in relation to a potential breach of World Rugby Regulation 6, specifically betting on rugby union. "The decision was taken to act immediately in light of recent information passed to the WRU. "Rob has co-operated fully with our initial discussions." In December 2019, Howley was banned for 18 months - nine of which were suspended - after being found guilty of betting on matches, including Wales games. It was backdated to his departure from Wales' cap in Japan on September 16, 2019  An independent judicial panel found Howley put "363 bets on rugby union, featuring 1,163 matches in total" between November 14, 2015 and September 7, 2019. Howley accepted the charges and admitted to placing bets on 24 "connected events" involving Wales or Wales players. That included backing a player to score the first try of the Six Nations Grand Slam clincher against Ireland in March 2019 and a bet on a different player being a try scorer in another Test match. Both players questioned denied any knowledge of the bets and were exonerated of any wrongdoing. It was found Howley lost 4,000 from the bets and the events were triggered by the death of his sister. The report at the time said: "It is clear that Mr Howley's betting on rugby was part of a hobby of betting on sporting events. "We use the word 'hobby' with some caution because it seems that a trigger for Mr Howley's betting activity was a family tragedy involving the death of his sister. "While we are prepared to accept the trigger for Mr Howley's betting on sporting events has its seeds in personal family tragedy, it is much more difficult to understand why he chose to bet on rugby which he knew was prohibited rather than other sport exclusively, which of course was perfectly permissible." Mitigating factors for part of the ban being suspended included Howley's early acceptance of responsibility, the lack of financial gains, no suggestion of dishonesty or misuse of confidential information and the press intrusion on his family that occurred after. Howley opened up in an interview with Mail Online last year about how he blamed himself for the death of his sister and how it led to his gambling. It was never about the money. When my thoughts went towards my sister, betting on rugby was an escapism, he said. On being sent home, Howley said: "I felt like Id let everyone down. It was humiliating and embarrassing." He added: "Gats support was unwavering. If I had to pick someone to line me up against a wall and shoot me, it would be Warren Gatland because of how I let him down.  In May this year, Howley told BBC's Scrum V podcast: "It was certainly the most testing time of my life and Im glad Im through that now." It has given me renewed strength, the support Ive had from the family." And this week, Howley admitted he was looking forward to his first game back against Wales, telling BBC Sport: "It''s been a tough 18 months to two years for the Howley household and they're looking forward to seeing dad back in the game. "It is significant for me, and for my family. I've been out of the game, I love the game, I'm very passionate and a very passionate Welsh person. I'm looking forward to the opportunity as well." He was named Canada assistant coach last September, just over a year after his betting ban started, on a three-year deal. He also became a consultant to Major League Rugby side Toronto Arrows. Howley missed out on the Italy job to Franco Smith due to his ban and was linked with a return to Wasps last year before taking on the Canada role. At the time of his appointment, Howley said: "I'm excited to get to work and help prepare Canada for Rugby World Cup qualification." Canada head coach Kingsley Jones said: "Rob is one of the most highly regarded coaches in international rugby and I'm ecstatic that he will be joining us at Rugby Canada. "He's someone that I've known and respected for a long time and the opportunity to have Rob join our programme is a huge step forward for Canadian rugby. "His experience and expertise will benefit not only our young players but our entire coaching staff."