Lions coach Warren Gatland a happy man after drawn series
AUCKLAND, New Zealand: With a plastic clown nose perched above a wry smile, it was hard to find a happier man at Eden Park on Saturday than British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland.
Heavily criticized from the moment they arrived in New Zealand, and given no hope of beating rugby’s reigning world champions, the Lions defied the odds to draw the final Test 15-15 and tie the three-match series.
For most of the players and spectators who had expected to see a clear winner, there was an overwhelming feeling of bewilderment, frustration and disappointment.
But not for Gatland, a New Zealander himself. Lampooned as a clown by one New Zealand newspaper, he could not resist the chance to poke fun at his detractors.
“For us to come here to New Zealand, against the back-to-back world champions, and draw a series, I think is an unbelievable achievement considering we were completely written off,” Gatland said. “Everyone was talking about this being a 3-0 whitewash ... this group of players has shown unbelievable character.”
Everything seemed to be go according to the script for the home team when the All Blacks convincingly won the first Test 30-15, but the Lions outscored New Zealand two tries to nil to win the second Test 24-21 and force a decider which ended in a thrilling but also anticlimactic stalemate, resulting in just the second drawn series in the almost 120-year history of Lions tours.
“I can understand everyone feels a bit flat because you want a result,” Gatland said. “But I think we’ll reflect on it and say it was pretty special to put a team together to play against the best team in the world in their backyard and particularly here at Eden Park where they have a phenomenal record in terms of their success over a number of years.