Correction: Warren Gatland
British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has hit back at his "misinterpreted" comments released on Tuesday.
Gatland was quoted by the Evening Standard as saying that taking a large portion of English players may add extra media scrutiny, suggesting a limit to the number that may travel to Australia.
However Gatland has since corrected his previous statement by saying there is no limit to the number of England players that could travel on tour.
"I am extremely disappointed that anybody should try to misinterpret what I said and try to say that will count against English players - that's absolute rubbish," Gatland told the Daily Telegraph.
"The last thing I would ever do is limit the number of English players. There is absolutely no limit to the number of any players from any nation we will pick if they are worthy of a place on the tour.
"I would happily pick 15 English players in the first Test at Brisbane if I thought they were the best 15 players for the job.
"The only consideration for a Lions coach is to get the best 15 on the park to do the job. That's paramount, I'm not remotely bothered which country they come from.
"When I first started at Wales I remember I once picked 13 Ospreys for one of my early Tests in charge."
Comments
RugbyLocos says...
northandsouth......
What he said may make some sense, but he should have kept those thoughts in his own head. I still vote to take the pills off him !!!.
Posted 14:52 14th February 2013
RugbyLocos says...
northandsouth......
What he said may make some sense, but he should have kept those thoughts in his own head. I still vote to take the pills off him !!!.
Posted 14:52 14th February 2013
northandsouth says...
fozza - no, down under media are not unbiased, they are going the same gutter journo way as everywhere else. The UK press are however renown the world over as particularly jingoistic, sensationalist, unbalanced and self-referenced (note I am talking about the press, not the people)
Also, what Gatland said was not stupid (though I do believe saying it was unwise). Here's what Gatland did NOT say:
- English players would not get picked
- English players care any less about the Lions than anyone else
Actually, he said a lot of complimentary things about English rugby
What he did say:
- There are certain cultural stereotypes about the English and their sportspeople, (subtext: many other nations see them as condescending and entitled). He was not saying this was his view, but that he recognised it was the view of others, and that if he picked quite a few there would be an impact on how the team was perceived and treated by others. This is TRUE. An English heavy team would be treated differently to a Celt heavy team. Its not right that this is the case; Gatland (or I) are not condoning it. However, an intelligent, sensible manager should be aware of it and factor it into their thinking when planning the tour, managing situations, etc
Posted 13:21 14th February 2013
APV1 says...
@ Frooschman - he did and the thought still makes me shudder. But what SCW did so well was having the experts around him, allowing him to concentrate on his primary role.
He had a barrister on tour in the RWC, which was very useful when we decided that 15 players were'n't quite enough and threw on an extra one for good measure.
He had a PR person and a "periphearl vision coach" and so on. In other words, he left nothing to chance.
Gatland might as well just open his mouth to swap feet, the plank.
Posted 12:48 14th February 2013
roddyo says...
Photos
Fixtures
All Results
Records
Archive
2013 British & Irish Lions
Davies leaps to Gatland's defence
At last a bit of common sense from one of the best Lions ever
British & Irish Lions committee chairman Gerald Davies has launched a vociferous defence of coach Warren Gatland in the wake of a storm sparked by his comments regarding English players.
Gatland hit the headlines yesterday by appearing to suggest he was wary of picking too many England players for this year's tour to Australia in fear it would bring the kind of scrutiny that plagued their 2001 Rugby World Cup campaign. Gatland, who ironically paid a visit to the England training camp this week, has since attempted to clarify his comments and insists he will pick the best players for the job - regardless of nationality.
And the Kiwi coach has received the full backing of Davies, who believes Gatland was speaking "common sense" and his views were taken out of context. "I think there has been a huge over-reaction," Davies told the Western Mail. "It has been way over the top. I feel the headlines have hugely exaggerated what he says in the interview.
"It has been sensationalised out of all proportion. That is unfair on Warren, who actually speaks a lot of good common sense. If you read the article, he is very complimentary about England and how well they are doing at the moment.
"What he does emphasis is that when you go on a Lions tour, good behaviour and good manners are very, very important. Personality and character are important. You are sharing a long trip away from home with players from four different nations. It's important to get along well.
Posted 10:42 14th February 2013
fozza says...
@oceansnz... I hadn't realised the Southern Hemisphere media was so unbiased and dismissive of stereotypes...
Posted 10:37 14th February 2013
RugbyLocos says...
Mr Gatland: Those pills they gave you after falling off the ladder were not supposed to be forever and you are supposed to reduce the dose, not increase it !!!
They are also not supposed to be passed on to anyone else - so why on earth did you give then to Howley???
Posted 10:30 14th February 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
The England players will get to tour Australia within their playing careers, how many times do you get to tour Argentina? I think Jason Leonard only got to do it once in a ten year career. Then you throw in the fact that the Pumas are in the rugby Championship, so if Gatland doesn't want the English then there's a very good alternative with none of the baggage. Taking on the Pumas in their own back yard is something for any rugby player to tick off their bucket list.
Posted 10:10 14th February 2013
ramm83 says...
@kinkster - If Gatland is aware of the way the media are then he should have kept his mouth shut and not risked saying something controversial.
Still, I think this is all a storm in a teacup. If he doesn't pick the best squad available then he is a mug (which I don't believe he is).
Posted 10:07 14th February 2013
GoWalesGo says...
Warren Gatland knew what he was doing here, the only question is what was he trying to achieve. If he wasn't trying to stir something up then what was the point of even mentioning it.
What he should have said was "maybe i should have kept my mouth shut".
Personally i'm sick and tired of these pointless outbursts from him.
Posted 09:33 14th February 2013
fozza says...
I'm not sure the comments were taken out of context, I think people just jumped to the conclusion that he was talking about limiting the number of Englishmen he'd take.
However, this does not change the fact that what he said was stupidity of the highest order. This is the guy tasked with bringing the four nations together in one team and he decides to differentiate the English from the rest right off the block, even going so far as to say other countries targeted them... that would be you last year Warren... Ill conceived drivel utilising stereotypes usually reserved for people who have nothing to do with current rugby.
Not a good sign for next year.
Posted 09:09 14th February 2013
PREEST says...
All the while the wallabies are keeping quiet and preparing a team that will ransack the lions...Even Quade Cooper has settled down. I'm Kiwi but I hope our old foe smash the lions. Just means we will have an awesome RC to look forward to after that!
Posted 04:43 14th February 2013
kinkster says...
@rugby_rockstar, you still don't get it, Gatland is having a go at the media and the circus they create, not the English players. Give the guy a break.
Just go and have a read over the comments on the related article from the interview to see how much influence and spin the media have on these things. Also have a read of the original article and where it actually and specifically insults the English players, his comments are all related to how the media portrays the English, not how the English portray themselves. In fact he talks about how the players have a need to unwind and he won't stop that.
Posted 01:43 14th February 2013
Oceansnz says...
This is yet another classic British non-story.
Ingredients: take any media and they try to create a scandal out of nothing, then a barrage of whinging fans who feel their manhood is at stake.
In the Northern Hemisphere; too much rubbish happens off the pitch.
Posted 00:06 14th February 2013
Facec says...
Just read the article. Not sure what was supposedly taken out of context.
Muppet.
Posted 22:42 13th February 2013
kiwilad says...
Onec again a Lions team will defeat itself, this time before leaving the northern hemisphere...
Posted 20:18 13th February 2013
kiwilad says...
Onec again a Lions team will defeat itself, this time before leaving the northern hemisphere...
Posted 20:18 13th February 2013
TurtyTree says...
The irony of this coming a week after Gatland commiserated with fellow Kiwi coach Deans in his struggles with managing a partisan local media's sensitivities. Why doesn't Gatland just get Jim Telfer to do his PR...
Posted 20:01 13th February 2013
NHsaints says...
Benefit of the doubt Warren, but you've pushed your luck with the english in the media in the past and it's not paid off...just look at hartley's 100% lineout and scrum record in the game against the welsh in 2011 after gatland called him a choker...
Posted 19:09 13th February 2013
pierredelot1 says...
As usual before aLions finalselection the old Nationality card is played by someone to stir it up. We get a) Too many English. b) The Welsh don't travel c) The Scots aren't good enough. Always something. The key to the tour and to all the rubbish is the management. Irvine has been around the patch for a fair while now and knows the pitfalls that await. But provided he doesn't take some idiot who wouldn't know the shape of a ball as did Woodward with that doyen of the press Alistair Campbell there should be no bother. Players are fairly International in their outlook these days and comments stirring up nationality issues within a potential squad are all piss and wind. No doubt the S/H boys staggering round the Pubs of South West London will be having a good laugh, but they're only here on a lendlease basis, thankfully not permanent
Posted 19:09 13th February 2013