Gatland should have been coach of year, insists critic Rattue
ONE of Warren Gatland’s harshest critics in his native New Zealand has outlined why the Welsh supremo should have been named World Rugby’s Coach of the Year and not English rival Eddie Jones.
Outspoken New Zealand Herald journalist Chris Rattue has a long history with Welsh rugby and Gatland.
Even before the Lions set foot in his homeland this summer for their three-Test series with the All Blacks he accused Gatland of scuppering the Lions hopes of a first series win in the land of the long white cloud since 1971 by appointing Sam Warburton as skipper and not Alun Wyn Jones.
And he added the Lions coach got things ‘critically wrong’ by not selecting England skipper Dylan Hartley and Red Rose full-back Mike Brown among his 41-strong squad for the 10-match tour.
But having masterminded a series draw with the back-to-back world champions Rattue believed Gatland should have been rightfully honoured at Sunday’s lavish World Rugby awards in Monaco with the Coach of the Year accolade.
He wrote in the Herald: “Eddie Jones was calling for the wrong person to be on stage, in his place, at the world rugby awards.
“Rising England maestro Jones said All Blacks boss Steve Hansen was still The Man and deserved to be coach of the year. I doubt many New Zealanders feel Hansen was robbed.
“The winner should have been Warren Gatland, whose underrated feat in stirring the British and Irish Lions to a series draw in New Zealand pipped all other achievements this year.
“Yes, England won the Six Nations...but significantly without a clean sweep. And England often win the Six Nations, or should. They are the powerhouses of European rugby, over-resourced heavyweights against cut-price neighbours and an Italian punching bag.
“Aussie Jones has got the rugby press eating out of his hand. He is great stuff — a genuine, interesting and very likeable character, who attracts attention. He has some amazing achievements on his CV.
“But that is not what the award is for. This year’s choice was tough, but Gatland was robbed for my money. He tamed the mighty All Blacks, whereas Jones didn’t even have to face them.
“Gatland has an image problem, for whatever reasons. But he pulled a series draw out of a hat after his Lions were universally touted as cannon fodder in New Zealand, the hardest place to tour by far. Graham Henry called the 10-match assignment a “suicide mission”.
“Consider the Lions’ history. Prior to 2017, they had played 11 series here, won one, and lost 10.
“For all of the mystique and legends associated with the Lions concept, and it is a wonderful one, they lose against decent teams. Truth be told, the rightly famous 1971 winners faced a poor All Black outfit.
“The last time the Lions came here, in 2005, a highly rated team with overblown preparations were blown away.
“Gatland arrived with key Test players – notably the rampaging England No.8 Billy Vunipola – missing. The natural tour leader, classy Welsh loose forward Sam Warburton, was injury affected.
“Crucially and uniquely, Gatland’s Lions had to play two matches at Fortress Eden Park, where the All Blacks are unbeaten since 1994. This was always a huge and unfair factor. Gatland got big selection decisions right, sticking with a clever inside back combination and retaining faith in workhorse Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones.
“However he did it – whether through player driven decisions or not – Gatland got the Lions right for the big one, a series-levelling draw at Eden Park where the All Blacks had promised to set the record straight at their favourite ground.
“If Woodward or Jones (or another press favourite Henry for that matter) had coached the Lions to a draw in New Zealand, I reckon they would have won the world award.”