‘Personal attacks’ lift us: Gatland
Coach Warren Gatland insists the ‘‘personal attacks’’ on him galvanised his British and Irish Lions into a series-levelling victory over the All Blacks.
The series heads to Auckland’s Eden Park next Saturday locked at 1-1 after the Lions’ 24-21 win in Wellington, after which Gatland fired back at what he believed was a concerted campaign against him in some quarters.
One story inferring his players were out to target his son Bryn, playing for the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in the tour opener, sparked Gatland’s anger, then last week it continued when the coach was portrayed as a clown by a newspaper.
‘‘The last couple of weeks in terms of the criticism and personal attacks has been tough to take. Not so much for myself because that’s part of sport but for family members,’’ Gatland said.
‘‘Kiwis are probably the fairest people you’ve come across and whoever’s been doing that would have no idea how much it’s galvanised us a group. The amount of support and the team has had from Kiwis saying good luck, people shaking our hands, ex All Blacks contacting us and saying I hope you do well, and some of the stuff in the press and the personal stuff is completely over the top.
‘‘There’s a lot of Lions fans and Kiwis wanting us to do well because they think some of it’s been unfair. Some of it’s been water off a duck’s back to me but ironically it’s been a huge positive. It’s not working and actually been great for us.’’
Gatland took the most satisfaction from his players stepping up physically after they were battered in Auckland. Still, he wasn’t overly enthused by their penalty count which saw the All Blacks kick out to 18-9. ‘‘It’s a win for us, it keeps the series alive.
‘‘Obviously the Sonny Bill Williams red card was a factor but with the number of penalties we gave away we’re not getting too carried away.’’
The Lions head to Queenstown now for a few days of rest and, as Gatland joked ‘‘a bit of skiing and recreational stuff’’, before heading to Auckland. He expected a huge response from Steve Hansen and his All Blacks.
‘‘We take a huge amount of confidence from stepping up physically which was the challenge.
‘‘We scored some nice tries and the red card is significant for the All Blacks.
‘‘We know what New Zealand teams are like when they lose, we saw that in Chicago and we know we’re in for an almighty battle at Eden Park but we’ve come out of tonight with some belief and confidence in keeping the All Blacks tryless. I don’t know the last time that happened.’’
The victory was perfect timing, too, in a week when the whole Lions concept came under scrutiny and Gatland faced mounting pressure to get it right and prove they could topple the world champions.
Captain Sam Warburton beamed proudly alongside, having been elevated to the starting lineup after an injury-hampered tour leadup, and bringing the physicality his coach demanded.
Still, the captain of the 2013 series win in Australia, when he was injured during the second test, knew the job wasn’t done yet.
‘‘I didn’t even celebrate when the final whistle went. I just thought we’re evens now. I’m glad we’re taking it to Eden Park next week but I genuinely will only be happy if we get that test series win next week,’’ Warburton said.