‘Gats was a very positive team-mate. He had the ability to manage people well’
England’s John Mitchell knows his old housemate will have Wales ready for battle, writes Mick Cleary
John Mitchell has been scouring the memory vaults to come up with a weakness in Warren Gatland, his former Waikato housemate and team-mate, but all the England defence coach could reveal was that his fellow New Zealander gave up laying drains as a short-term job to finance his studies after just one day “because of the blisters”. Mitchell, captain during Gatland’s days with Waikato in the early 90s, speaks of his one-time colleague as “smart, brave and intelligent… a man who has had to grow a rugby nation [in Wales]”, but he will still be intent on trying to outwit the man he shared accommodation with during those formative years.
Mitchell is well aware of the impact that Gatland has had, and continues to have on Wales, and the emotional intensity he will engender for Saturday’s Six Nations game against England at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Mitchell has seen at first hand, as assistant to Clive Woodward for the Grand Slam-denying experience at Wembley in 1999, just what an injection of revved-up passion can yield on any given day.
“I am under no illusions what we are walking into,” said Mitchell, who was subjected to a hostile reaction from the Wembley crowd as England lost.
“Yeah, that was all part and parcel of it. That was unique to me at the time. Having those experiences teaches you to forget about external factors and just make sure your players are nice and clear for the weekend.
“You just have to embrace these atmospheres. Wales is a very passionate rugby country. Both sides will need to rise emotionally. If one side doesn’t turn emotionally at the right level that will have a bearing [on the result].”
Mitchell and Gatland actually turned out for different clubs in Hamilton, Mitchell playing for Fraser Tech, Gatland for Hamilton OBS, a rivalry so acute that one of them used to move out of their digs on the Friday before matches so as to avoid any friction. In those amateur days, with Mitchell a quantity surveyor and Gatland training to be a teacher, they would come together to play 11 or 12 games a season for their province, Waikato, travelling to training in Mitchell’s car. “Gats was always a very positive team-mate,” said Mitchell. “I was his captain. There were probably five schoolteachers [in the team] and five really strong personalities.
“Warren said just concentrate on your own game rather than always the collective. He had the ability to manage people very well. He was a very good thrower of the ball and an exceptional scrummager but Sean Fitzpatrick was there [in the All Blacks]. Gats could also have been a first-class cricketer. He has seen all sides of the game and he has imparted those experiences into his coaching. He has had a very good schooling. He has had to basically grow a rugby nation. And
he hasn’t accepted any limits, continuing to raise the bar with Wales which gives you an idea how he leads. Gats is a good, funny b----- and has a good way of motivating people.”
Gatland, despite overseeing the Lions as they inflicted a first All Blacks home defeat in eight years when they won the second Test in Wellington – and went on to level the series by drawing in Auckland the following week – has not always earned praise in his homeland, with The New Zealand Herald making up him as a clown on its front page.
“New Zealand is tribal but people in his community would respect him highly,” said Mitchell. “That red-nose stuff was unfortunate and uncalled for but probably motivated him as well. That said, this Saturday is not about Gats or me. It is about Wales versus England. And we need to take another step.” England will reduce their 33-man squad this evening. Saracens lock Maro Itoje remains in camp to continue his rehabilitation but is not available for selection.