Head coach Warren Gatland says he made a mistake by giving Cory Hill the Wales captaincy after the lock pulled out of the victory against Queensland Reds because of “personal reasons”.
Gatland named Hill as captain on Wednesday for Friday’s game but the player’s withdrawal from the side was announced just minutes before kick-off.
Asking Hill to be skipper was a controversial move because of an incident in 2021 when the lock was named among a group of individuals who damaged a woman’s house.
He was not charged by police, but apologised at the time through a representative.
There was a negative reaction on social media to Gatland’s decision to make Hill captain.
“Cory came to me and said for personal reasons, he was pulling out of the match,” said Gatland.
“So I had to respect the decision he’d made to do that.
“I’ll put my hand up and say that I probably shouldn’t have put him in that position.
“I picked him on what he’s been doing out here. It was a rugby decision I made.
“It probably doesn’t help when you do get some negativity thrown at you, it makes things difficult.
“I could probably have negated that by not selecting him in that position. I need to hold my hand up in terms of that.
“I probably didn’t appreciate there was going to be some negativity about making that call. Like I said, I probably underestimated some of that.”
Gatland said Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney and executive director of rugby Nigel Walker had not been involved in any of the rugby decisions taken this week.
At a press conference after he was named captain, Hill said he regretted the 2021 incident and apologised publicly, while Gatland explained at that point why he thought the lock should be his captain for this game.
Gatland reiterated his claim that forgiveness should be sought.
“There’s a lot of sportspeople who have had similar situations that, for whatever reason, are back in the fold,” said Gatland.
“I thought he was brilliant on Wednesday [at the press conference], I thought he was genuine in terms of his apology for something that happened three years ago.
“The facts are that he wasn’t arrested or charged. He’s put his hand up and said he’s made a mistake.
“How long do you have to wait before people stop throwing stuff at you?
“There’s lot of examples of sportspeople who have had misdemeanours and gone back into playing.”
Gatland had included Hill in his summer squad, despite the former Cardiff second row now playing his club rugby in the fourth tier of Japanese rugby.
Hill returned for his first taste of international rugby in three years with replacement appearances against Australia in Sydney and Melbourne in the 2-0 series defeat.
“What I can say is he’s been absolutely brilliant since he’s been out here in terms of his leadership, his experience and how he’s helped the young players,” said Gatland.
Hill has signed for Japanese side Secon Ruggets for the next campaign.
Gatland has spoken about Hill potentially playing in the next World Cup.
“It’s probably about having a chat with him about where he is,” said Gatland.
“He’s got a one-year contract in Japan and then [it is a case of] probably assessing it from there.
“I think he would potentially look to come back to Wales and one of the regions.
“If that’s the case, he’s got that experience that he could potentially come back into the fold.”
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