1
Warren Gatland confirms talks with Stuart Lancaster as Lions preparations go on
By PA
Warren Gatland has spoken to former England boss Stuart Lancaster as he considers his coaching staff for next summer’s British and Irish Lions tour.
After his stint as England head coach ended following pool-stage elimination from the 2015 World Cup, Lancaster became part of the coaching staff at Leinster and his time at the club has included a Champions Cup win in 2018.
Speaking on a Sky Sports podcast, Gatland, who will take charge of the Lions for a third time when he oversees the 2021 tour to South Africa, said of Lancaster: “I have a huge amount of respect for him.
“We met before the last tour and he spoke to me about his opinions on the Leinster players and the Irish players and gave me an insight into them and I appreciated that. So, look he’s definitely one person that I’ve spoken to.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him, but there’s a number of other people that I’ll be looking at and to talk to and the first step is to get clarity from unions and the bosses and then potentially club CEOs about who is available, who isn’t available.”
Ex-Wales boss Gatland – currently working with the Chiefs in his native New Zealand – has also spoken about the likes of Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje playing in the Championship for Saracens ahead of the tour, saying he does not “really have any concerns and worries about what state they’re going to be in”.
Gatland said: “We understand that maybe playing in the Championship is not going to be quite the same level, but hopefully those players are going to get a significant amount of international rugby between now and the tour, and if you look at them, a lot of them are pretty experienced and pretty seasoned campaigners as well.
“Maybe the positive thing about the Saracens players is they’re going to play some Test matches, they’re going to be playing some Championship matches, but they’re going to come on tour really refreshed and excited and probably maybe in better shape than a lot of other players because they haven’t had quite the same level of intensity. But I’m just speculating about that at the moment. It’s just a matter of wait and see.
“I don’t really have any concerns and worries about what state they’re going to be in, because I think they’re going to get enough top-level rugby before the tour.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Four England talking points after their Six Nations rout of Wales
3
What Steve Borthwick told Matt Sherratt following Wales debacle
4
England player ratings vs Wales | 2025 Six Nations
5
Latest Comments
My name is Amelia Jonathan from the United States, Using this opportunity to thank Dr. Ughulu is a grateful thing to me, for over years I have been sick with Hepatitis B disease, I have done a lot of things to get cured of my diseases and nothing has worked out. I have taken different types of medication for it , but it still doesn’t work for me. I still keep going for a check up so that the doctor will tell me my disease has be gone, because i’m taking my medicine with no result nothing has been cured, I have spent a lot of money just to get cure of Hepatitis B. until my old time friend came to my place and saw what am going through, and then direct me to contact Dr. Ughulu who is a very powerful man, which I did explain my problem to Dr. Ughulu and send me a herbal remedy bottle and explain to me how I should drink it. So I started to drink the herbal tea in one week that I drink the herbal tea. I went for a check up to check if I’m cured from Hepatitis B disease, then the nurse told me nothing is wrong with me anymore and said I’m fine. I am the happiest person right now. I promise Dr Ughulu I will testify about his good work on the internet. Reach out to Dr. Ughulu Via: drughulupowerfulspelltemple@gmail.com Thank you so much sir for what you did for me you’re the best of all. TEXT OR CALL: +1(252) 409-1841 or website: https://drughulupowerfulsp.wixsite.com/my-site-ughulu WHATSAPP NUMBER: +1(720) 794-2516
Go to commentsI’d take the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls, and Lions back in a second. Super Rugby Pacific is improving and the conference system sucked ass and never should have been implemented but if you think the quality of rugby is better without the South African franchises, you are kidding yourself.
And there is nothing authentic about Moana Pacifika, it is a sixth NZ franchise. Almost all of the players are NZ citizens, born and raised in NZ, were developed by NZ secondary schools and play in the NPC. The players just happen to be of Pacific heritage (just as there are a very large number of Pacific heritage players on the original five NZ franchises). Moana Pacifika is a marketing ploy for Auckland’s second SRP franchise.
Fiji Drua are legitimately a Pacific island team. Most players are born in Fiji, the players live and train in Fiji, and they play their home matches in Fiji.
Go to comments