Gatland: Set to coach B&I Lions
New Zealand-born Wales coach Warren Gatland is set to follow in the footsteps of Graham Henry and coach the British and Irish Lions on the 2013 tour to Australia.
It has been reported that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has given its approval for Gatland to take over from Sir Ian McGeechan having been his assistant on the 2009 tour of South Africa.
Gatland's Wales deal has a five-month break clause but it is thought the WRU will allow a six-month sabbatical, which would rule him out of coaching Wales in the 2013 Six Nations.
Lions team manager Andy Irvine has previously said that their preference was to have the 2013 coach available for an entire year but that timescale could be changed for the right man and Gatland's odds are shortening.
The New Zealander coached Wales to the 2008 Grand Slam and won many admirers for their performances in the 2011 World Cup, where they finished fourth, and currently lead the Six Nations standings after wins over Ireland and Scotland.
The choice of Lions coach will be announced after the culmination of this season's Six Nations.
Former All Blacks coach Henry was in charge of the Lions on their last tour to Australia in 2001 while in charge of Wales, and lost the series 2-1.
Comments
melkdave says...
@Jontheref
As predicted the european tier one nations are now going to tour the Pacific Islands and N.America .Italy are going to N.America while Scotland ae going to Samoa and Fiji.It would have included Tonga aswell but the goverment there is atm a bit of a pryraih politicaly so misses out to stop any contaversy ala SA in the 70s and 80s
Posted 13:48 07th March 2012
weemanmarsh says...
@blametheref. I have no idea what you are talking about. The home nations do get the chance to step up alone against the southern hemisphere sides for 3 out of every 4 years. It's not as if we only play against them in the form of the lions because we are afraid. Considering the size of the disadvantages the lions have it would be disrespectful to the nations we face to field anything but our best players.
As for the effect on the players, in my belief it is mainly positive. As an England fan I look at the leaders in 2003 Johnson, the whole back row, Dawson, Greenwood. Where did they first learn to beat the best? South Africa 1997. Without being rude some players are better than the teams they are in. Keith Wood was world class and deserved a career highlight as such. On the same tour he got it.
Disbanding the lions? The only questions that matter are: Do the players want it, do the majority of fans want it and do the sponsors want it? The answers are all yes and while that is the case the nay sayers will only be blowing irrelevent hot air.
Posted 02:25 06th March 2012
melkdave says...
After the RWC how can the IRB not consider the pacific nations tier 1 .They proved the can play and live with other tier 1 nations both NH and SH. What is / has held their development back is the lasck of regular matches against the established tier 1 nations .Now as they are rather poor unions in camparison with say Australia or Scotland they cant really afford to do tours every year at least not to Europe .Given that doesnt it make sense for a NH country to tour there every year on a rotational basis same as they do for the big 3 SH now. A tour could work as follows 3 matches against local clubs (one on each island )the 3 test matches one each against FIJI-TONGA-SAMOA finishing with a match against the combined Pacific isalands team. Can anyone dought they would be real hard test matches i dont.The same criteia also applies to the USA and Canda the Churhill cup helped them delvelop and also got some exposure on tv there .But now they need regular games against established tier 1 nations full sides NOT As to develop further thus why the Churchill cup is now defunct as a competion .Another benifit might be rugbys breakthrough into the mainstream of sports in N.America and thats a long cherished dream of the IRB .It wont happen overnight but eventually it has to be thus for the game to grow and flourish worldwide
Posted 03:29 18th February 2012
jontheref says...
melkdave
"The Lions will go on ive nodought about it,espically with the Pacific islands now going to be tier 1 counties and the IIRB wanting the home and French unions to start touring there along with N.America"
The Pacific islands are now a tier 1 counties?
What do mean?
Any of Samoa, Fiji and Tonga can BECOME tier 1, this is all about results.
Japan COULD become tier, doesn't mean it will happen.
To my knowledge, all the home nations tour the USA as it is.
The word is doubt.
Posted 15:06 17th February 2012
leinster_goy says...
@melkdave
top-notch, couldn't have put it better myself
there is something mystical about the B&I lions that one cannot explain. the aura of the red shirt has very few equals in world rugby. it's obvious to me that the home nation players believe this too. they realise that there are some things that transcend narrow-minded national identities and rivalries. for them, there is no greater honour than to play for the lions and there is scarcely anything more inspirational than a series win (it's more inspirational, i would argue, than a grand slam or heineken cup win)
i still remember when i was a wee leinster_nipper, watching the 1997 series with my dad, and vividly recall all the magic moments: dawson's cheeky dummy, jenkins' majestic kicking, gibbs bashing through os du randt and of course, keith woods' brilliant kick-and-chase to set up the winning drop goal. it's the kind of stuff that folklore and legend is made of, and i can honestly say i've never witnessed anything in rugby like it (for me, it even surpasses leinster's achievements). that it was so long ago makes the narrow 2001 and 2009 losses all the more agonising. if the lions had won both of those times, would people still be calling for the concept to be scrapped? i doubt it. 2005, while a disaster, was an aberration and will never happen again. those with a good knowledge of the lions' history know that the concept is worth holding onto, and that another long-awaited series win is just around the corner ;)
Posted 11:22 17th February 2012
melkdave says...
Well i see there are the usual calls for the Lions to be disbanned and you can make a point for it.But my would that be a massive mistake and im not just talking history and tradition here either..They bring great benifits to british rugby as a whole .First off national coaches are forced to blood young talant while senior players are on Lions duty so sorry @blametheref your wrong in your thinking there as most would stay with the status que .espicall now NH teams are going to be doing proper tours again .Secondly Lions matches are usually great spectacles of rugby to watch and are great adverts for the game worldwide and generate alot of revenue for the hosts and home unionsThird the Lions usually unearth at least one player who is world class but not well known outside in his own country -IE O'Driscoll 01-Greenwood 97-Kearney09 ect. Fourth it is really the only time the home union players and coaches can put aside their rivalry and work for a common goal and learn from eachother and see how they can incorparate differant tatics ect into their own gameplans .Are there great challanges to overcome and do teams raise their game against the Lions YES but im of the mind that it makes the coaches and players better in the long run just look how close the Lions have come to series wins in the last four tours -97 series win -01 should have been just 1 mistake in the 2nd test gave the wallabies hope and turned it.-05 well a disaster of a tour really to many players went alot not really Lions stardard imoand 2 teams emerged instead of a united squad Lesson learned-09 Some out of this world defending from SA saved them but god so close to a Lions series win imo The Lions will go on ive nodought about it,espically with the Pacific islands now going to be tier 1 counties and the IIRB wanting the home and French unions to start touring there along with N.America
Posted 15:53 16th February 2012
J_HDK says...
Let's all face up to it. The lions tours are a bad idea. They are invariably poorly coached and poorly managed with many players in the squad because politically there needs to needs to apppear some sort of balance in numbers from the home nations.
a national coach is selected with disastrous results. Trying to balance their game plan with those of players from other nations and get them to slot into it...
Best choice for Lions coach is a successful Barbarians coach as that is how the Lions should play their rugby
Posted 08:25 15th February 2012
hayj05 says...
@blametheref - While you do make some interesting & valid points it's more about the history of the series isn't it? I love the lengthy tour & the sense of Nostalgia & occasion that the test series inspires. The last tour to South Africa was probably the best series I have ever witnessed.
Also lets not forget that it is only once every four years & it's not only considered a great achievement by a player to make the British & Irish Lions but it's also considered a great achievement to play against them from a SH point of view.
Posted 00:59 15th February 2012
Dingdong says...
Who cares where the coach is born? Gatland is the Welsh coach, seemingly the best of the Home Nation coaches available, so it makes sense.
I'm all for tradition and am looking forward to another Lions series, long may they continue. I was lucky enough to meet and have a kickabout with some of the 1993 squad as a wee nipper at school. And as a Kiwi, there'll be no chest-thumping from me should they win in Australia with Gatland at the helm - I've always backed them on Australia and South Africa tours, irrespective of any NZ born coaches (or players) being involved.
Posted 20:25 14th February 2012
KiwiJoe says...
Could do worse, 2005 Lions to NZ had one of the most evperienced squads, largest management group, Bill Beaumont, Clive Woodward and O'Driscoll as captain.
They got slaughtered to an embarrassing degree, ho hum...
Posted 19:35 14th February 2012
Nicholas41 says...
I am a fan of tightening up the eligibility laws; there are far too many players playing for an international teams which plainly aren't their's.... please don't start a 'who has most' pointless, childish row....
And I would like that to extend to coaches too.
Nothing wrong with Kidney or Malinder/Edwards/Rowntree. Rugby isn't science. A predominantly Wales/Ireland squad with a smattering of English and Scots will do well whoever is coaching.
Posted 19:08 14th February 2012
blametheref says...
I think in this age NH teams are lowering their own individual nation's ambitions and status in sending the British and Irish Lions to the SH...it shows we still hold the SH teams in some kind of awe in even playing the series. Not only this, but players returning from Lions duty are always knackered and usually perform badly the following season or are injured...It should be noted that France usually win their Grand Slams following a Lions Tour...For me, I'd like to see Ireland pull out of the Lions and go it alone in facing SH opposition, I feel it would be better for up and coming players and Irish rugby as a unit, as I feel it would be for England, Scotland and Wales also and the rugby in these island's in general...
Posted 17:19 14th February 2012
pog_mahone says...
I can slightly sympathise with Nicholas41's view. It would be nice to achieve a series win without SH help. If we do win with Gatland, we'd better be prepared for a lot of Kiwi chest thumping in the comments sections here... Plus I cannot warm to Gatland. But there's no question that he wouldn't do a good job and more than likely bring home a win.
Posted 16:54 14th February 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Did a pretty good job in 2009. Sheridan and Croft have never been as effective as they were under Gatland.
Posted 15:06 14th February 2012
DaveJ says...
Just happy it's not Kidney. The potato.
Posted 09:42 14th February 2012
PTplayer says...
@Nicholas41,
Yeah, let's have Andrew Robinson or Declan Kidney coaching the Lions.
Brilliant idea!
Posted 09:27 14th February 2012
leinster_goy says...
@Nicholas41
why's that
Posted 08:26 14th February 2012
Nicholas41 says...
Should be a Brit or Irish coach.
Posted 07:19 14th February 2012