Out for vengeance

Warren Gatland returns to South Africa having toured with the Lions in 2009 as an assistant coach. A loss in that series and two subsequent World Cup knockouts at the hands of the Springboks means he has some old scores to settle.

Born in the quiet city of Hamilton on the shores of the Waikato river in New Zealand, Gatland excelled as an abrasive young hooker and later established himself as a club legend for Waikato over the course of 140 appearances. Though he never played Test rugby, he did feature 17 times for the All Blacks between 1988 and 1991.

The story goes that in his first week of All Blacks training, Gatland introduced a drill that was a hybrid game of Aussie rules and Gaelic football, much to the enjoyment of his teammates. Already the signs were there that he thought about rugby in a different way.

The opportunity to coach arose in 1994 when Gatland took on his first full-time post as an assistant coach at Thames Valley RFU. His influence was immediate, with the side promoted the following season.

It wasn’t long before Ireland called and Gatland was appointed director of rugby for Connacht. Knockout success in the European Challenge Cup was enough to see him further promoted to head coach of Ireland in 1998.

In the space of four years Gatland had ascended from a regional assistant coach to the heights of the international game. It was a meteoric rise but one that came too quickly. Despite some brave performances, including Ireland beating France in Paris for the first time since 1972, Gatland was ultimately ousted in 2001. He finished his stint with a 47% win record.

Undeterred, he took up a coaching position at England club Wasps with whom he then won the Premiership three years running from 2003 to 2005. It was a necessary phase in his development as a coach and gave him the opportunity to hone his skills and gain experience before he inevitably found his way back to the international game. British & Irish Lions, the pinnacle of all coaching achievements.

He took on this role in 2013 and led the Lions to Australia in what would be their first series victory since 1997. And four years ago, he was at the helm when the Lions drew against the thenworld champion All Blacks.

Success in South Africa would help Gatland avenge Wales’ two most recent World Cup exits perpetrated by the Springboks, and put him among rare company in Lions lore, having completed his third tour as head coach without having lost a series.

FAST FACT

After his 12-year stint with Wales, Gatland signed a four-year contract with the Chiefs that allowed him to take a sabbatical in 2021 to coach the Lions

Gatland’s sustained success with Wales made him the natural choice for head coach of the British & Irish Lions, the pinnacle of all coaching achievements

That he did in 2007 when he was named head coach of Wales, a role that would come to define him. In his first season, Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam; a feat they would go on to repeat twice more in his 12 years in charge. In all, Gatland won the championship four times and maintained a win record of over 70% in doing so.

Gatland’s sustained success with Wales made him the natural choice for head coach of the

Below: Exchanging pleasantries with Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus before Wales’ 2019 World Cup semi-final in Yokohama