Boks triumph gives tour ‘extra edge’
South Africa’s Rugby World Cup victory over England adds box office buzz to the next British and Irish Lions tour, says Warren Gatland, who maintains that being based in New Zealand with the Chiefs will not hinder him in the buildup to 2021.
‘‘If I was going to be selfish, for the Lions it puts an extra edge on it because now we’re going to South Africa to play against the world champions,’’ Gatland says.
‘‘There would have been more expectation to pick those [England] players to be part of the Lions [starting side], and people saying, ‘If England can beat South Africa in the World Cup then the Lions should win that comfortably’.’’
Gatland is unconcerned about being so far away before he starts his one-year sabbatical from the Chiefs. ‘‘The great thing from a Super Rugby point of view is that we’re playing South African teams, so it will be two weeks in South Africa for matches,’’ he says.
He will cease work at the Chiefs in June 2020, then ‘‘look at the home unions on summer tours, look at who South Africa are playing, recce out there to look at hotels and training venues’’.
He adds: ‘‘The timeframe is perfect for me, coaching against those South African teams and tapping into knowledge from a New Zealand perspective, with people who’ve been involved with the South African teams. It’s a great position to be in.’’
He also says he will avoid the problem of support staff expressing an interest, but then having to pull out. ‘‘A couple of people I spoke to last time indicated they were available, and when it came to it they weren’t. I don’t think that was a brilliant look from both sides, and I learnt from that.
‘‘Logistically, South Africa is easier because the time difference and not having to deal with the jet lag issue we had in New Zealand, where we arrived on the Wednesday and the first game was on the Saturday.
‘‘There were a lot of people in New Zealand who were surprised the Lions agreed to that schedule because it was very, very tough. The cooperation between South Africa and the Lions has been excellent.’’