JUST how long is Warren Gatland going to put up with this mayhem?

If the row between the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions rumbles on for much longer there must be a grave risk that he won’t lead Wales into the next World Cup.

The no-nonsense New Zealander has taken Wales from the ashes of the 2007 World Cup to the Triple Crown and Grand Slam within a matter of months and is now on the verge of making the next step as they get to grips with southern hemisphere giants South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

He wants to see how Wales will fare at this level and what he has to do to get them among the top few nations in the world in a position to make a real challenge in New Zealand in 2011.

But there is a growing fear he may not get that far. Why? Well, for starters he is going into the first of the autumn tests against the world champion Springboks with one arm effectively tied behind his back.

For the regions have refused point blank to allow the players to be released for the two weeks he wants before the game because it would mean them missing the final round of EDF group matches.

But they say it’s not just about that. They are at complete loggerheads with the WRU over the terms of the participation agreement. They claim the Union has reneged on an agreed compensation package for players leading up to the last World Cup, they claim that they release the players for longer periods than the agreement allows for anyway and they say they can’t get WRU chief executive Roger Lewis to the negotiating table.

All this has left Gatland holding the baby and though he says he is big enough and ugly enough to speak out for himself on the issue, he is dismayed the regions have even turned down his compromise offer of having the players for a few days next week, letting them play in the EDF games before returning to the Wales camp for the week of the South Africa match.

The players can go for the week of the fixture only, say the regions, whose stance is, if anything, hardening.

How much more of this Gatland is prepared to put up with is difficult to tell.

He will tomorrow be named as one of the coaches for the British Lions in South Africa next year, something he regards as an honour and a big challenge.

He’s obviously not going to pass up that opportunity, but with no end in sight in the row between the regions and the WRU, which is even escalating, it wouldn’t surprise me if he gives it all up as a bad job and lets Wales stew in their own juice.