BLACK CLOUD LIFTS AS LION GAT BITES BACK
WARREN GATLAND has warned the All Blacks that the abuse he took as Lions boss has made him a better coach.
He insists it hardened him to such an extent that even if the Kiwi media dress him up again as a clown ahead of Saturday’s Wales-New Zealand clash it will not break him.
“It made me stronger and more resilient,” Gatland said of a drawn series fought as aggressively off the pitch as on it. “It made me dig deeper and want to fight harder.
“It was challenging from a personal perspective but when you back a Kiwi into a corner we come out fighting.
“There’s no way I was going to allow something to get the better of me. I got mentally tougher. I felt like I was in a boxing match and was going to come out on top of this.”
Lampooned as a clown, complete with red nose, Gatland had the last laugh as the world champions were left red-faced by the result.
But he returned home drained, saying he “hated” the tour, the press and the negativity and would not be doing the job again. As he prepares for his coaching rematch with All Blacks boss Steve Hansen at the Principality Stadium, it is apparent time has proved a healer.
“There was some pretty underhand stuff going on,” revealed Gatland, urging his Wales side to have his fighting spirit on Saturday.
“Looking back there are one or two people I would like to get into a corner of a room on their own with me.
“But I enjoyed the challenge of thinking no one was going to get the better of me, or split the squad or try to create controversy.”
Australia boss Michael Cheika is under investigation for potential misconduct during his side’s defeat by England.
He reacted to a “gobful” of abuse from a home fan and appeared to sarcastically call the ref a “f***ing genius”.
EDDIE JONES is considering Chris Robshaw at No.7 for England against Samoa, having said during the 2015 World Cup he is “definitely not an out-and-out openside”.