Gatlands ready for father-son reunion

TTHAT Bryn Gatland has a smart head on such young shoulders.

Here he is about to play the game of his rugby life his only concern is that his go-to guy for advice at moments like this is now off limits.

That’s because, of course, Gatland is about to make a neat little slice of rugby history when he runs out in the No 10 jersey for the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians against a British and Irish Lions team in Whangarei next Saturday night coached by his father, Warren.

In the normal course of events when the 22-year-old North Harbour and Blues replacement player has a big game like this coming up he turns to Dad for a calming word, or a useful piece of advice. Not this week. He’s on his own. ‘‘He called me when he first saw the squad named, and said ‘do you want to take me on, do you?’ It’s all a bit of a laugh actually. I called him a few nights ago and said it’s the first time I’ve had a game coming up where I haven’t asked for any advice, because he can’t really tell me anything.’’

Normally Bryn milks the fact his father is one of international rugby’s highest rated coaches

His regular calls, he says, yield a mixture of dad advice and coaching guidance.

‘‘If he watches a game he’ll start off with you played pretty well, or whatever it was, but he doesn’t overload me with anything. He’ll just give me a tip here and there which is really helpful.’’

Bryn is bursting with pride, too, about his father’s achievements.

‘‘It’s more the fact he’s given us such a great life as a family.

‘‘It’s pretty cool, we’ve travelled the world a bit and lived in different countries, so he’s done that for us. It’s a bit bittersweet playing against him because he’s done so much for us.’’

But there’s a payback. Bryn, who spent time as a youngster in both Ireland and England, but was schooled for the most part in New Zealand, understands where his loyalties lie when it comes to the looming test series.

‘‘I will support Dad. With something like this I think family comes first.

‘‘No one has ever said I’m wrong for doing that. I support Dad 100 percent in whatever he’s doing, though obviously I’m an All Black fan as well.’’

As far as Saturday in Whangarei goes, he has no clue on what sort of Lions team he’ll face. Except for one thing: ‘‘It’s the Four Nations put together, so it’s going to be a good side.

‘‘They’ll be big, physical guys and we’re just going to do what we do.’’