Sweeney’s Gatland connection
Time flies. When Dwayne Sweeney was last on a rugby paddock with Bryn Gatland, the kid was 10 years old, his dad was coach and some of the finer points of goalkicking were being handed down a generation.
Now, here they are, more than a decade on, team-mates in a New Zealand Provincial Barbarians outfit about to face the might of the touring British and Irish Lions team coached by, none other than the lad’s dad, Warren Gatland.
A lot has happened in the interim. Byn Gatland has grown up, now a young Kiwi five-eighth of some promise; Sweeney has carved out a respectable professional career, both in New Zealand and latterly Japanese rugby; and Warren Gatland has become one of the finest coaches in the game, now on to his third tour with the Lions, and second running the entire show.
Saturday night’s tour opener at Whangarei’s Toll Stadium has a number of notable factors about it, but none quite so profound as the special connection between the Gatlands, with a supporting role by Sweeney.
The 32-year-old utility back, who recently signed a two-season deal to return to Waikato, spoke about the special connection when the Barbarians stepped up preparations in Whangarei for a match shaping as the opportunity of a lifetime for a fair few of the Kiwi invitation lineup.
‘‘I guess time flies,’’ shrugged Sweeney, whilst sharing some banter with the youngster. What was he like then, he was asked? ‘‘The same size,’’ shot back Sweeney, with a grin.
‘‘When I got the call to [play for the Baabaas] I knew Bryn was going to be involved. Going back when his dad was coaching me for Waikato, he was 10 years old and I was teaching him how to goalkick. So I can take credit for how well he kicks.’’
Sweeney played for Gatland snr at Waikato from 2005-07, and is not surprised he has carved out such a successful coaching career.
‘‘Warren is really good at bringing people together,’’ said Sweeney. ‘‘We had an awesome environment and obviously he’s a proud Waikato man. It made it really easy to play for Warren because of what he had done in the jersey.
‘‘He had a huge amount of respect from the player group, and he instilled that back into the players. If we worked hard for him, he wasn’t shy about giving us the afternoon off when it was raining.
‘‘He was a big part of my career developing on to be a Super Rugby player.’’
Now Sweeney is giving back as the most experienced figure (though only second oldest, behind Wanganui’s Peter Rowe) in this Baabaas lineup that he says has to keep it as simple as possible this week.
‘‘The key is we’ve got to get to know each other. We’ve got a sheep farmer from Wanganui (Rowe), and I’m looking forward to having a beer with somebody like that ... it’s an awesome team to be part of because you’ve got that diversity of players.
‘‘There’s guys striving to be professionals, guys who are semi-pro, and guys who have been professionals for a long time.’’
Not quite nothing to lose – ‘‘You’ve always got something to lose when you step out there,’’ he says – but certainly an opportunity with a ton of upside.
‘‘I think we’ll let ourselves down if we go out individual. But if we bond together and play for each other, we’ll turn a few heads. There are some very, very talented young boys in this team and if they get it right on the night there’s a few names that will be remembered.’’
And advice for Gatland in the biggest week of his career?
‘‘Bryn’s pretty mature ... he’s had Super Rugby experience, he’s played in front of big crowds. I’ve known him for a long time but not as team-mates, so now he might want some advice, or he might say ‘you’re too old, that’s not how we do it these days’.’’
Either way Sweeney sees a young man ready to grasp his moment. ‘‘He’s been in and out with the Blues, but when he’s played, he’s performed. That’s a hard thing for a young man to do. I’m pretty confident he’ll do the job on Saturday.’’
And we know who will be taking the credit when those goals sail between the posts.