Gatland beware... son Bryn’s plotting your Lions defeat
FAMILY rivalry is set to reach fever pitch in the Gatland household next summer.
The British and Irish Lions will face many challenges during their daunting five-week odyssey in New Zealand, but coach Warren Gatland will also have to contend with his own son plotting their downfall.
The Auckland Blues will provide the first real test of a gruelling 10-game tour on June 7 and Bryn Gatland could very well be wearing the No 10 jersey for the opposition at Eden Park.
Bryn, a talented 21- year- old fly-half, has been blazing a trail this season for North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup, New Zealand’s premier domestic rugby competition, and is poised to break into the Blues squad for next year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Auckland franchise are also coached by Tana Umaga, who captained the All Blacks to a 3-0 whitewash of the Lions on their last ill-fated voyage to the land of the long white cloud in 2005.
‘Me and dad had a joke about it if it worked out like that,’ Gatland Jnr told Sportsmail. ‘If things went the best way they could for me then that could be a possibility. I asked him, “Are you gonna target me?” and he said, “Absolutely”. I said, “Well don’t worry, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve”, so we had a bit of a joke about it, but it’s a long way away and you never know what can happen.
‘I’m looking forward to him being at home. It’s a tough tour but we get to experience it and it’s pretty cool to see him get that role.’
Bryn has largely had to watch his father’s work from afar since Gatland Snr took over as head coach of a Wales side still reeling from a disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign. Bryn, his mother Trudi and sister Gabby, stayed in New Zealand while Warren went to work in the Northern Hemisphere. It has never been the ideal situation but they have made it work.
‘We don’t really say it enough but we really appreciate what he’s done for our family,’ said Bryn. ‘He’s the one who’s over in Wales, he’s been there since 2007 and he’s been away from us.
‘He says that Sundays can be a lonely day sometimes when you get a day off and your family’s not around. For him to do that for us, we can’t be thankful enough.
‘We’ve been lucky enough to live in a few different countries, experience different cultures and make some really good friends along the way as well. That’s one benefit that we can definitely get out of it.
‘It’s been hard as well having to get up and move schools and move countries every now and then but there are always pros and cons.’
Bryn’s rugby education began at age seven when he attended St Benedict’s School in London after his father had taken the top job at Wasps in 2001, following a turbulent period as head coach of the Ireland senior team.
Back-to-back Premierships and a Heineken Cup would follow before Gatland Snr uprooted his family once more and brought them back to New Zealand in 2005. There, the young Gatland would enrol in Hamilton Boys’ High School, the same institution which his father attended as a teenager.
His development reached fruition in 2013 with a last-minute drop goal to secure the First XV title, New Zealand’s top- flight schools competition.
‘I’d kicked three penalties and with about three or four minutes to go I ended up getting a drop-kick,’ he explained. ‘We won the game 12-10 so it was like one of those days that you dream about. It was actually the first drop-kick I had ever taken and it happened to be in a schools final which was awesome.’
Bryn was then picked up by his beloved province of Waikato, but with future All Black Damian McKenzie and 2011 World Cup hero Stephen Donald sharing the fly-half duties, he decided to head to Auckland’s scenic north shore for some much-needed game-time with North Harbour.
It was hard to leave his hometown club. ‘I decided to just take the risk and make the move and so far I’ve been really enjoying it and it’s been paying off for me,’ he explained.
‘ I think at Waikato, I got 20 minutes of action and now playing for North Harbour I think I’ve probably got over 400 minutes this season so it’s been a worthwhile move for me, but it was tough.’
Warren, 53, will step down as Wales head coach in 2019 bringing an end to a 12-year reign which has included two Grand Slams and three World Cup campaigns.
‘Obviously after 2019, we don’t know what’s going to happen with dad,’ added Bryn. ‘We’re hoping he’ll come home and can settle down here. It’s been a long journey, but it’s been a good one.’
For Bryn, you get the feeling his is just beginning.