WHAT makes a great coach in rugby? Like all sports, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. They could be a master tactician, an authoritarian who has his players thriving on fear and discipline, or an engaging motivator who has the personal touch. Perhaps a sprinkling of all three.
What makes Warren Gatland arguably one of rugby’s greatest coaches of all time – and, to many, the greatest? Most pundits and observers, professional or armchair, will give their reasons, but if we are to take any authority on the subject, then we shouldn’t look much further than the players who have served him.
Former Wales international No.8 Andy Powell said Gatland’s “man-management skills were out of this world, the best I’ve experienced”.
He added: “He works with every single individual and treats everybody the same. You feel welcome. He’s just a great man.”
But the New Zealander has been known to be ruthless, too, when he feels he has to. After all, you can’t win games on sentiment and, undoubtedly, some players will have felt themselves cast adrift from his tough selection calls. His former captain for Wales, Matthew Rees said: “The players respect him. We feared him as well. When he speaks you can hear a pin drop and every single player and member of the backroom staff will listen.”
After guiding Wales to the quarter-finals of the World Cup earlier this year, scrum-half Gareth Davies hailed the feelgood factor in the camp. “We are all back to where we want to be because of this management,” he said.
“We are fighting for each other, playing for each other and the environment is good. We’re enjoying our time off the pitch, it’s a good bunch of boys here. It shows on the pitch.”
There have been critics of his tactics in the past. ‘Warrenball’ was a pejorative term coined by ex-England attack coach Brian Smith, giving Gatland’s perceived predilection for a no-frills, direct, physical running game, a label that perplexed the Wales coach.
Undoubtedly, Gatland takes a pragmatic approach to getting the best out of his team to win matches. But, like any great coach, he is flexible and adaptive and he is not without romance for the way the game should be played either.
In his regular column in the Daily Telegraph he wrote “there is a responsibility on us to improve the spectacle”, decrying the dominance of kicking in rugby, while admitting that more organised defending is cancelling out flair. However, he caveats that by adding: “International coaches are under so much pressure to win games that it is not about entertainment, it is about winning.”
That is something Gatland is best at, winning four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, as well as taking Wales to the semi-finals of the 2011 and 2019 World Cups. He’s also been head coach of the British & Irish Lions for the past three tours, before stepping down in October, a decision that came easy as he told JEP Sport, as he primes his focus on moulding a next generation Wales.
“It was the right time, I think. I’ve been very fortunate, very privileged to have been involved. Now there’s an opportunity for someone else to do it,” he said. “It’s challenging being in charge of a Lions tour, with limited preparation and bringing players together from four nations.”
Part of that preparation for the last Lions tour, in South Africa in 2021, was bringing the squad to Jersey for a training camp, which will always be fondly remembered by rugby fans on the Island. However, the tour was a bittersweet experience for Gatland as the world was still negotiating its way out of the Covid pandemic.
He said: “South Africa was disappointing as it was a series we could have won, but the sad part of that was not having any fans or crowds there. It should have been postponed for 12 months and then we could have had fans.
“But I sit here lucky enough to have been involved in that. Playing against one of the best teams in the world is challenging, but incredibly enjoyable as well.”
This time last year, Gatland stunned the rugby world by agreeing to return as head coach of Wales, three years after stepping down from the same role. In doing so, he took over a team that had lost its way, but Gatland did not take long to regalvanise the squad.
The following Six Nations results may have been underwhelming, but they went on to top their group in the World Cup, winning all four matches, including a comprehensive 40-6 beating of Australia.
They should have gone on to at least the semi-finals, seemingly in control of their last-eight tie against Argentina, but they capitulated at the end and the Pumas turned the game on its head. But with many established international stars such as Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny announcing their retirement after the disappointing defeat, Gatland now has a chance to repaint the future of Wales with a blank canvas.
“I was really proud of us winning the group, but as I look back it was a missed opportunity against Argentina and, on reflection, we should have put it away. They stayed in the game and we gave away soft penalties,” said Gatland.
“But we’re really excited about some of the youngsters coming through over the next few years.
“We’re losing some of that experience and we will have to go through some challenging times in terms of developing some of these youngsters, but, like I said, I’m excited about that.
“The whole process starts now and about building up for 2027 in Australia for the World Cup. There’s a Lions tour between that too, so you’d like to be as successful as you possibly can to get as many players on it as possible and give them that opportunity and experience of being a part of that.
“The big thing is with a nation like Wales, a tier one nation, we have the smallest playing base of any of the countries, so you’ve got to start planning and preparation from World Cup to World Cup and hopefully be successful in those years in between, but it’s all about that planning and getting the cycles right when bringing those players through.”
Gatland was in Jersey recently as a guest speaker for a dinner at the Rugby Club. When he was making reconnaissance trips to the Island in preparation for bringing the Lions here, he fell in love with the place and that love was compounded during the week-long training camp. But things here aren’t what they were and, naturally, the subject turns to the sharp rise, fall and ultimate demise of Jersey Reds.
“It’s really disappointing for the Island in terms of what they’ve achieved. The club had been building blocks over a number of years and so to see them the disband as a team is incredibly disappointing,” said Gatland.
“It’s probably a reflection of what’s happening and what’s happened in the game over the last few years, particularly with the impact Covid had on the sport.
“You look at Wasps, Worcester and London Irish as well, there’s definitely some challenging times in the game. You’d love to see rugby continued to be played at the highest possible level in Jersey. It was good for the Island and it’s a real shame that this has happened.
“There needs to be a reset in the game in terms of money that’s been spent on players and contracts, and when you look how you produce a revenue that’s obviously from TV rights and the home unions putting funds towards the teams, but also you need the crowd numbers as well to be able to make sure that you’re doing things within your means. That’s probably been the biggest challenge.
“In the time I have been involved the salary cap has basically tripled, but then the revenue stream hasn’t kept pace with it. We now have an opportunity for everyone to have a bit of a reset about making sure they balance some books.
“I think the dream for somewhere like Jersey was potentially the opportunity for you to go one higher in terms of getting to the Premiership.
“But then there’s a lot of demands that come with that in terms of the stadium and other stuff that you need to [but] I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are very disappointed with the way that things have turned out.”
