He may be grumpy but Gatland is no clown

Warren Gatland’s reputation received a few bruises in Cardiff this week, some self-inflicted, but if he wants to apply for the All Blacks job will the NZ Rugby board be big enough to look beyond such misdemeanours?

Given the All Blacks’ shaky form leading into the test against Wales, and the fact captain Kieran Read was among those scratched because of injury, Gatland issued some bullish comments prior to the match at the Principality Stadium.

The result? New Zealand 33 Wales 18. It is a familiar tale for the Welsh. Gatland doesn’t help himself at times. His decision to this week backtrack on the ‘‘explosive’’ information about the All Blacks, a term he used the book that has been released in the wake of the British and Irish Lions’ tour of New Zealand this winter, was embarrassing and bizarre.

One wonders what NZ Rugby made of it all. Certainly All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was unlikely to have giggled about any supposed information that threatens to tarnish his team’s reputation. You could say the same for NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Tew and board chairman Brent Impey.

Once someone starts getting on their hind legs and parrots that they know something that the rest of us doesn’t, it creates an element of suspicion, especially when it comes from a high-profile rugby identity such as Gatland.

Gatland, clearly, is a complicated creature. We saw that when he was in charge of the Lions, guiding them to a meritorious 1-1 series draw with the All Blacks, and the way he bristled, with good reason, after newspaper portrayed him as a clown.

He is also a very good coach. Star flanker Sean O’Brien might disagree, but anyone who guides a northern hemisphere team to a series draw with the All Blacks and wins over the NZ Maori, Crusaders and Chiefs must have done a lot of things very well.

Yet Gatland hasn’t offered clarity around his future plans after he finishes up with Wales after the 2019 World Cup.

The All Blacks’ job, if Hansen elects to stand aside, will be available after the tournament. As a New Zealander, and a former All Blacks hooker, Gatland will surely consider whether it is worth asking for a job interview.

Then the rest would be up to the NZ Rugby board, and whether have the courage to slip off the blinkers and look beyond Ian Foster, who has been Hansen’s assistant since 2012.

Now that New Zealanders Dave Rennie, Chris Boyd and Wayne Pivac have been reported as being added to a short list of candidates that the Welsh Rugby Union are chasing to replace Gatland, NZ Rugby may already be resigned to at least one of them not being in the race to challenge Foster for the job.

Criticism of the Lions and their strategies in New Zealand, a conservative game plan that relied on strength, power and a ruthless, yet fast, defensive line is shortsighted. Because it pushed the All Blacks to the brink.

It might be something NZ Rugby might want to consider prior to dwelling on Gatland’s grumpy side. He might be many things, but when it comes to rugby he is no clown.