First still has no equal as Gatland’s highlight
WARREN Gatland has singled out his very first game in charge of Wales as the highlight of his 10 years at the helm.
In an interview with former Wales and Lions flanker Martyn Williams for the BBC, the New Zealander looked back at a decade in the role since being appointed at the end of 2007.
While Gatland has presided over two Grand Slams, he says beating England at Twickenham in February 2008, ending a 20-year Welsh hoodoo at the ground, is the one moment that stands out.
The win owed much to a thrilling second-half turnaround after Wales had clung on in the first period, a lastditch tackle by hooker Huw Bennett on England wing Paul Sackey on the stroke of half-time keeping them in the game.
“Having not won at Twickenham for so many years .... ” Gatland recalled.
“We said to the players we need to be smart and play for territory in terms of kicking.
“But in the first half the boys took that literally and we kicked the leather off it! Then at half-time we said ‘guys, we are kicking away quality ball, go out and play some rugby.’
“We did that having hung on just before half-time. If we had conceded that try we would have lost that game.”
Gatland shared a comical moment as he headed for the home dressing room after the final whistle that day.
“A reporter came up to me as I was coming down the tunnel and said ‘Warren, Graham Henry was known as the Great Redeemer, what are you going to be known as?’ “I said ‘a lucky b ***** d!” As for the lowest point of his reign, Gatland, somewhat unsurprisingly, pinpoints the agony of failing to get through the 2011 World Cup semifinal against France when captain Sam Warburton was infamously shown a first-half red card.
“I don’t have any criticism towards him for that, I just thought it was a really unlucky decision and potentially could have been a yellow card with the magnitude of the moment.
“Sitting in that box after the first 15-20 minutes I thought we would win the game quite comfortably, we were under no pressure.
“Good teams should put games away by 20 or 30 points (when the opposition has had a red card), but we still should have won with 14 men.”
Gatland said he has found the level of expectation around the national side a challenge.
And, while expressing his admiration for the passion and pride of the Welsh people, he believes they are ‘too critical of themselves and each other.
He added: “Culturally, some times as a nation, I have found the Welsh to be incredibly passionate to be Welsh and proud of their history and their roots and what they have achieved.
“But I have found the Welsh to be very critical of themselves and each other.”
Asked by Williams whether the trait ‘goes too far,’ Gatland responded: “I think so, yes. I would just like us to be a bit more (positive).
“Everyone talks about the glass being half-empty.
“When I first arrived someone said what Wales will be like. I was told the story of the fishermen in west Wales catching the lobsters.
“One of the lobsters starts climbing out and the Englishman says ‘one of the lobsters is going to get out.’
“‘Don’t worry, the Welshman said, it’s a Welsh lobster the others will drag him back down!’
“I have seen that at times and that’s been the challenge. I just think it’s something we have to deal with.”
With Gatland due to end his time in charge after the 2019 World Cup, he was asked what advice he would have for his successor.
And the Kiwi believes that if the new head coach is not Welsh, then he must have a Welsh influence in his coaching team.
“I would say make sure you have a local element, you have to bring these people on board and trust them because they become your eyes and your ears.
“I have seen in the past coaches come from the southern hemisphere and try to transpose that whole southern hemipshere culture into a northern hemisphere environment. “But it doesn’t work. It’s different. “You can bring a lot of things from where you come from, but you have to embrace the culture of that country if you are going to be successful.”