LION KING DYLAN
Gatland: Hartley can lead my team
DYLAN HARTLEY’S career transformation was given an emphatic endorsement yesterday as Warren Gatland underlined his credentials as a candidate to lead the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand next summer.
The England captain has emerged from the status of perennial pantomime villain to earn widespread acclaim as the figurehead for a Grand Slam and 3-0 series whitewash of Australia under new national coach Eddie Jones. His exploits have seen him emerge as a front-runner to the Lions — and Gatland trumpeted his claims.
Gatland was confirmed yesterday as head coach of the 2017 crusade and he believes the England revival under Jones is a positive sign as the Lions gear up for what is regarded as an impossible task to beat the All Blacks in the three-Test series.
Asked how Hartley has acquitted himself as captain, Gatland, who once derided him as a ‘choker’ and a liability on account of his poor disciplinary record, gave a very different verdict on the Northampton hooker.
‘Dylan has always played on the edge and that has been one of the traits that has made him such a competitor as a player,’ said Gatland, who was head coach when the Lions beat Australia 2-1 in 2013. ‘He’s obviously matured and he’s done a great job with England.
‘ Eddie rates him incredibly highly. He has a lot of respect from the players as well. The pleasing thing is his discipline. He hasn’t been suspended for a while. That’s a big tick against his name. Hopefully he continues in that vein and continues to be successful.’ England have won nine successive Tests under Jones and Gatland added: ‘It is easier to select players who are coming from a winning environment with a lot of confidence. It’s the same when you are picking captains.’
Gatland was at pains yesterday to emphasise his neutrality in terms of assessing contenders for squad places and the captaincy. The message was clear — that for 10 months he is solely the Lions head coach, not the Wales head coach. That job has been temporarily handed to Rob Howley.
As such, he is heartened by the rise of England. ‘The best thing at the moment about the Lions, and purely with my Lions hat on, is the improvement in England over the last 12 months,’ he said. ‘ It’s pleasing that England’s players are playing well and with confidence. That’s good for the Lions.
‘It’s not my role to have any favourites and we’ll pick who we think are the best players. If that’s 25 Englishmen and two Welshmen, that’ll be the squad. If you were going to pick the squad now, there would be a large contingent of English players. But if they have an average autumn and a poor Six Nations then that’ll soon turn around.’ The Lions expect to be followed by a ‘red army’ of at least 30,000, as well as ex-pats based in New Zealand and Australia. They have an allocation of 8,000 tickets per Test but understandably believe that large sections of the stadiums will be painted red.
While the world champions are on a 42-Test unbeaten run at home, Gatland won’t tolerate a defeatist outlook. ‘ If there are people, players or coaches who believe we haven’t got a chance, put your hands up now and don’t get on the plane,’ he said.
Asked if it was an impossible mission, he added: ‘Not at all. I wouldn’t be doing the job if I thought that. I’m the eternal optimist. If you look at the players out there, we have some real quality.’
Gatland claimed the opportunity to coach the Lions against the best team in the world was simply too good to turn down despite being widely castigated for dropping Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll for the last Test against Australia in Sydney.
The Lions won 41-16 to secure a 2- 1 series triumph and Gatland admitted that he felt vindicated in the face of so much fierce criticism.
‘If you fail as a Lions player, it doesn’t have an impact on your international selection or your club,’ said Gatland.
‘But if you fail as a coach the impact is not positive.’
But Gatland has a glass-half-full outlook. He will know that, if he can guide the Lions to an historic series victory, that will ensure immortality for him, his assistants and players. Harsh reality can come in due course.
For now, there is hope and anticipation.