Former Wales backs coach Rob Howley has been banned from rugby for 18 months, with nine suspended, for betting on matches, including Wales games.

The suspension is backdated to his withdrawal from Wales' World Cup campaign, on 16 September 2019.

The panel who judged Howley found from 14 November, 2015 to 7 September 2019 he "placed 363 bets on rugby union, featuring 1,163 matches in total".

Howley, 49, used his Welsh Rugby Union phone and email account to place bets.

The former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrum-half was sent home from Japan six days before Wales' opening win against Pool D opponents Georgia and replaced by Stephen Jones.

Warren Gatland went on to guide Wales to the tournament semi-finals before Jones joined new boss Wayne Pivac's staff.

Howley was part of Warren Gatland's backroom from the beginning of 2008 and he was scheduled to leave that role after the 2019 World Cup.

Instead his active role ended when he left the camp in Japan.

Howley lost £4,000

While the investigation was under way, Gatland said Howley had "been through hell" and WRU chairman Gareth Davies said they had been in regular contact with the former Wales captain.

Howley accepted the charges and can return to the sport on 16 June, 2020. The former Wales scrum-half has lost the opportunity to be the new Italy head coach.

He admitted to placing bets on 24 "connected events", which were games involving Wales or Wales players.

Howley's bets involved two on players, including on who would be the first try-scorer in Wales matches, one of those games being the Grand Slam win over Ireland in Cardiff in March 2019.

Howley said neither player had any knowledge of the bets and the duo also said they had no knowledge of the events when interviewed by investigators.

Over the five-year period investigated, the WRU panel was satisfied he made no financial gains and lost £4,000.

Family tragedy

The report stated Howley's betting stemmed from a family tragedy.

The report said: "It is clear that Mr Howley's betting on rugby was part of a hobby of betting on spot 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."

Howley stated he has not placed any bets since September 2019 and was confident the help of a consultant psychologist would stop him from betting in the future.

His case was heard in Cardiff by an independent panel, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams.

The Sports Betting Intelligence Unit of the Gambling Commission has provided advice throughout the investigation.

Howley has 14 days to appeal the decision from 11 December, 2019, the date of the judgement.