‘Delicate’ reason why Warren Gatland doubts he will ever coach the All Blacks and how he has over the ‘negativity’ of Wales
Ex-Wales boss Warren Gatland has been talking about the All Blacks job which, in the past, has been held by Steve Hansen, inset
Warren Gatland has explained how he has moved on from the negativity that surrounded him as Wales head coach. The Kiwi resigned last February after a two-match losing start to the Six Nations stretched the winless streak the team had endured since its 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final elimination.
Seven months on from his decision to step away from the position after a run of 14 successive losses, a streak in sharp contrast to his previous time in charge when Wales won three Grand Slams and reached two World Cup semi-finals, Gatland has been interviewed on The Dom Harvey Podcast about his stellar rugby career.
It’s a monster two-hour chat in which he described one New Zealand media outlet as trash, explaining why he will never ever speak with them again. The veteran coach also suggested a delicate reason existed for why he didn’t allow himself to be considered an option to coach the All Blacks.
Asked in the introduction by show host Harvey to outline what he is currently up to, Gatland said: “I’m loving life at the moment, really enjoying things. It was tough finishing up at Wales but I kind of made the right decision for myself, kind of looked at it as a challenge.
“Do I need this in my life?”
“Results and performances weren’t good enough, and I understand that, and there was just a huge amount of negativity out there. I kind of woke up one day and went, ‘Do I need this in my life?’ I’d been through a lot, have been successful and I felt it was a challenge, so I said that’s enough for me for the moment and I will have a break.”
That break has included plenty of travel, Gatland revealing he had holidayed in Europe and Fiji since exiting the Wales job. He also took umbrage at how his three-week consultancy with Uruguayan rugby was reported.
“There were headlines in Wales,” he quipped. “I was asked by someone in World Rugby would I be interested in going to Uruguay for three weeks to help out with their national academy and one of their club sides.
“I went, ‘The game has been brilliant for me, here is an opportunity for me to give a little bit back’. There were headlines, ‘Gatland takes shock new position’, and I went, I’m just going over as a consultant for three weeks to have a look at their academy and a team called Penarol… it was a great experience for me in terms of looking at something different.”
Gatland was committed to Wales when the All Blacks’ job most recently was up for grabs, a two-way contest between Ian Foster and Scott Robertson that went the way of the latter coach after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
While his second coming with the Welsh was a disaster, his first stint from 2008 to 2019 was a roaring success for the former All Blacks hooker who cut his teeth coaching international rugby when appointed head coach in 1998.
He also led the British and Irish Lions on their 2013, 2017 and 2021 tours. However, according to Gatland, the idea of coaching the All Blacks was never a live runner during his career, mainly due to the way the recruitment process was carried out.
“There have been times when they have been looking for All Black coaches and have been contacting all the coaches in the world, but a lot of people didn’t put their names forward in these things, and I think they [NZR] have changed their philosophy on that,” he said.
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“The thinking at the time was they might contact myself or they might contact eight or 10 other people, ‘We’ll put your name forward for the All Blacks position’. But it’s one of those where if anyone finds out you have put your name forward for the All Blacks and then you don’t get the role and then you go somewhere else, then it’s the All Blacks were my first choice and you’re only my second choice.
“It’s a really delicate situation. I think they have changed their philosophy where they may target just one or two people in terms of the roles going forward. Because I was involved in a situation where I was contacted, but I never put my name forward and I know of other coaches, because of that scenario I was talking (about), never put their names forward applying for an All Black coaching position.”
It was September 17 when Gatland celebrated his 62nd birthday and while he is currently still on a rugby break, he didn’t rule out a return at some stage. “You have always got to keep your options open. That’s the thing… We’ll see what happens in terms of that.”
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