'There was an orchestrated campaign in the NZ media to try to unsettle me'
Warren Gatland will complete the set of southern hemisphere destinations as he plots the downfall of South Africa knowing his name is already stitched into the fabric of the British and Irish Lions.
Only Sir Ian McGeechan has overseen more tours but it is Gatland who has become the Lions’ indispensable figure of the professional era with his influence outweighing that of any player during the same period.
Victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand four years later have given the Kiwi a proud unbeaten record that will face possibly its toughest test yet against World Cup holders Springboks.
While players are traditionally held up as a side’s ‘talisman’, in Gatland the Lions have a champion whose name has become as synonymous with the tourists as that of McGeechan or Willie John McBride.
“Naturally he was our first-choice candidate from the start of the process,” said managing director Ben Calveley in September when reappointing Gatland, who was the only name on the shortlist.
The bond between coach and Lions is strong, surviving the 2017 tour to New Zealand when he was the target of a critical offensive by the local media that included him being mocked up as a clown. Gatland admitted that he “hated” the experience.
“There were aspects [I hated]. There was an orchestrated campaign in the New Zealand media to try to unsettle me. That really threw me,” Gatland said.
“But the Lions is something I could not turn my back on. I would have regretted it.”
And so he has enrolled for another tour, but this one like none of the 37 before it as the coronavirus pandemic places restrictions on playing and training that will require all of Gatland’s skills to limit their impact on the tour’s prospects.
Operating in a bubble environment, the Lions must adopt a new approach to forging the team bonds that are so important if players from four rival nations are to be unified successfully.
Historically Gatland has proved a master at this, giving players enough freedom away from rugby in the knowledge that a winning side is not conceived on the training field alone.
“Warren is a very progressive coach, but he does like his players having a beer, enjoying themselves and getting to know one another,” said Paul O’Connell, the former Ireland lock and the last Lions captain in South Africa.
“I remember coming in late on a few occasions and you’d arrive into the team room to grab a slice of toast and all the coaching staff would be there around the big table on their laptops. There’d be a bottle of wine or two or three in the middle of the table.
“They’d all be watching footage, arguing and discussing. That’s something Warren does really well, he brings his coaching staff and players together. He builds good relationships and gets alignment really quickly. That’s why his teams are successful.”
A lieutenant under McGeechan on the 2009 tour to South Africa when he oversaw the forwards, Gatland understands the Lions in a way some of his more recent predecessors did not.
Sir Clive Woodward’s 2005 crusade to New Zealand failed conclusively, a bloated touring party containing too many of his out-of-form England World Cup winners suffering from being divided into dirt trackers and the Test side at an early stage.
And four years earlier Graham Henry led an expedition to Australia – a destination where the Lions have clinched seven of their nine tours – that was notable for division within the squad laid bare by Austin Healey and Matt Dawson.
Gatland has avoided those and other traps, wedding his canny touch for bringing together players and staff with a ruthless streak in selection that pays no homage to reputation or nationality.
Fury greeted his decision to drop Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll in 2013 while the small Scottish contingents totalling five players picked for Australia and New Zealand have been held against him, but the 57-year-old is emphatically his own man.
“I’ve never been a person who has worried about external influences,” said Gatland, who played against the Lions for Waikato in 1993.
“People can say, write or imply whatever they like. It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve been put into a role to make what we think are the best decisions.”
Gatland has a remarkable track record of delivering results, from a European Cup and Premiership titles with Wasps to Grand Slams and Six Nations crowns with Wales, who he transformed from occasional to consistent winners.
His recent spell with Hamilton-based Super Rugby franchise the Chiefs has been less productive but now back at the helm for the Lions, he is in reassuring territory where history shows he possesses an assured touch.
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Skelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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