Warren was king of card school and sing-songs!

...SAY HIS OLD WAIKATO TEAM-MATES

THE day before Waikato beat the Lions in 1993, Warren Gatland took his fellow front row forwards to the barbers for matching flat-top haircuts. He talked them through his latest scrummaging trick, called ‘hang heads’, as the players took some time out from their day jobs.

It was the sort of innovation that set up the hooker, who balanced rugby with teaching, to become one of the game’s most famous coaches.

‘Gatty was always one step ahead,’ said team-mate Steve Gordon. ‘At the scrum, we’d spear into the opposition and drop our heads down. When the ball came in, we’d snap back up into their chest to leave them stunned. They’d be saying, “What the **** is going on?” and we’d snatch half a metre.

‘His teaching background helped. He’s always had an innate ability to read people and read the game. He taught at Huntly College, a pretty rough Maori school, and they loved him there. He was working with kids from tough backgrounds. He gave people the belief to achieve.’

Against the Lions, flanked by a team of vets, lawyers and plumbers, Gatland, then 29, scored a try in a famous 38-10 Waikato victory.

He had the skills of a No 10 and was often called Sumo because of his ‘pot belly’, but was never capped by the All Blacks. His peers, however, soon picked up on his coaching potential.

‘Warren’s a Waikato boy through and through,’ said team-mate Wayne Warlow. ‘He’s even got a leather couch in the colours of Waikato — red, black and yellow. What stood out about him as a player was his faultless line-out throwing and the way he was always a little bit ahead of his time.

‘Ian Foster used to run the backs but Gatty would always be in his ear saying, “Listen up, I’ve got a few moves for you guys!” He’d get the cups out over lunch and use them as props, talking through these elaborate plays he’d thought of. It’s no surprise where he is now.’

Gatland played 140 times for the region and his family home is two miles up the river from the stadium. Wife Trudi often hangs out banners on match day, and has been seen driving through Hamilton this week with Lions flags on her car.

As a man-motivator, Gatland used to play on the fact that his team-mates had a chip on their shoulder about being overlooked by the All Blacks. So when the Lions came around, captained by Will Carling, it was a window for the unfashionable region to make its mark.

‘Gatty had this theory that if we ran out of the tunnel faster than the opposition, then we’d win the game,’ said team-mate Duane Monkley. ‘There was no science to it but because Warren said it, we believed it.’

Gatland was the heartbeat of the team. He designed game plans with teammates Foster and John Mitchell, both of whom went on to coach the All Blacks, and led renditions of Tell Laura I Love

Her from the back of the bus. In his early 20s he developed a strong interest in horses, investing in local stables and going to races with team-mates to get away from the pressures of work and rugby.

‘There was a serious tactical side to him but he was also a hell of a funny guy,’ said team-mate Doug Wilson. ‘He was king of the card games. We played Euchre and the loser had to be his slave for the day. He always involved the young guys but he was a miserable b****** to lose to. He made you call him “Master”.

‘When I was slave, he made me be a human card table — perched on my hands and knees on the bus for about two hours.’

Gatland’s mugshot still has pride of place on the wall at the FMG Stadium, where the Lions take on the Chiefs this morning.

Now, 23 years on from his final appearance, he is still remembered around the town for his sense of humour.

‘He’s always liked a gamble and you can see that in the way he picks teams,’ said team-mate Richard Jerram, who used his veterinary skills to stitch up wounds. ‘He loved Slave for a Day. On tour Warren kept winning so one of the guys got a bit fed up and slipped him a sleeping pill in his coffee.

‘It was just before we went on a safari. He was saying, “Oh, man, I don’t know what’s happening, I just can’t keep my eyes open”. He thought he had altitude sickness. There was an ostrich pecking on his window and he slept through the whole thing! It was nice to get one up on him… for once.’