Warren Gatland: The next Lions coach?
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Warren Gatland, Andy Robinson and Declan Kidney are the candidates for 2013 British and Irish Lions head coach role.
The Lions expect to make the appointment in April ahead of next year's ten-match three-Test tour to Australia.
The respective coaches of Wales, Scotland and Ireland will all effectively be on trial during the upcoming Six Nations championship but if none of them fit the bill, former coach and current Bath boss Ian McGeechan would be considered according to chief executive John Feehan.
McGeechan said at the end of the 2009 tour to South Africa that he would not seek to go on an eighth tour, suggesting rather that the new coaching team should be built around those who assisted him in the agonising 2-1 Test series defeat to the Springboks - Gatland, Shaun Edwards, Rob Howley and Graham Rowntree.
The successful candidate will have to step away from his current role before the 2013 Six Nations in order to maximise his preparation time but all three national coaches have indicated their desire to take on the biggest job in the northern hemisphere.
England's interim coach Stuart Lancaster will not be considered because he does not have the required experience, nor will whoever is appointed as the full-time coach.
"You don't have to be a genius to work out who the candidates are...we will keep an eye on them and see how well they do [in the Six Nations],'' said Feehan.
"All of those people are committed to wanting to do it, which is fantastic. It really comes down to performance now and who we feel will work best.
"Once we have selected the coach, we wouldn't want them involved in the 2013 Six Nations because we would like to take the pressure away from them in terms of results.
"We also want the coach to be able to get access to and contact with all the international players in the different squads. He is not going to be able to do that if he is an active coach.
"We have the support of the Six Nations to do that.''
Feehan emphasised that the job would not necessarily go to the coach that wins the Six Nations, stressing the decision would be based on relative performance and confirmed that Lions experience, and performances at the 2011 World Cup were also key factors, suggesting that New Zealand born Gatland ticked all the boxes.
"We won't rule a coach out if he hasn't [got Lions experience] but clearly the more experience, the better,'' said Feehan.
"The big problem with Lions tours is that you have to get it right from day one. There are no second chances so if a guy understands that and understands the ethos that needs to be built up with the players and the management, it helps.
"It is a definite bonus to them but a coach is more than just experience.
"There are one or two candidates who haven't been on a tour before and I have no doubt that they can bring their own insights and own intuition into the situation.''
The final decision will be made by the Lions board, which is made up of representatives from the four home unions - Tom Grace (Ireland), Gerald Davies (Wales), Andy Irvine (Scotland), John Spencer (England) - plus Feehan.
Feehan confirmed that a sqaud of up to 37 players would leave together after the Aviva Premiership and PRO 12 finals which will be played in the last week of May. The opening match of the tour is against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on June 1.
Comments
melkdave says...
@Isthatrightref
Your idea has merit and perhaps we need a new team to help out as 20 yrs is a long time .I dont think the Barbarains would be the correct team though as they draw their players worldwide So how about an ISLESMEN team made up of former home union internationals still playing high leval club rugby ?? who tour every 4 yrs say the year following a RWC so it dosent clash with the Lions who can tour say Argentina -the Pacific Islands -North America ect to help the game grow Heres a squad to give people an idea of what im thinking of
15) I.Balshaw / C.Paterson
14)M.Cueto / S.Horgon
13)M.Tindal
12) T.May / G.Henson
11)S.Williams
10)J.Wilkinson /S.Jones/D.Parks
9) P.Stringer /D.Peel /S.Perry
8)N.Easter
7)D.Wallace /M.Williams
6)L.Moody / R.Jones
5)S.Shaw /N.Hines
4)M'O Driscol
3)A.Sheridan / D.Jones
2) G.Chunter / J.Flannary
1)M.Horan / D.Bell
Of course some players wont want to do one last tour but i do feel it wpuld be a good way for them to finish their careers with but thats just my opinion
Posted 14:04 22nd January 2012
isthatrightref says...
@ melkdave... that would mean a visit every 20yrs? Far too long a gap imo to maintain interest.
I'm starting to agree with GCP_JONES that in an ever more crowded calendar it may be time to do away with the Lions altogether: perhaps the Babarians could make a whistle-stop tour every 4 years instead, say South America/ Africa alternating with Australia/ NZ/ PI?
Posted 20:59 21st January 2012
melkdave says...
As the game grows i expect the lions will start touring the likes of Agentina and the pacific islands Agentina could be done 3 club games a game against a S.American represenative side then say against Uragray and Agentina A followed bt 3 tests against Agentina gives us 9 games in total ive included Uragrya as they are the next best national side in S.America and have played in a RWC and what boost to the game a S.American tour would be to the game there .Same could be done for the Pacific islands 3 club games (1 on each island followed by games against Samoa -Fiji-Tonga and 3 tests against the Pacific Islanders team i cant see why they couldnt play against another represenative team ??like themselves if a 10th game is needed /wanted then theres always the Barbarains
Posted 16:25 20th January 2012
APV1 says...
@ pogmahon et al.
I must admit that the closer we get to the 6N, the less this worries me. Time will tell and I am really looking forward to the Lions, but we're only a couple of weeks away from the 6N - woo-hoo!
But I still believe that you choose squad > match-day > starting > captain.
With regards to the Argentinians joining the 3N and discussions whether they should be added to the tour schedule, how about the whole structure changes? How about, rather than a rotation round each of the 3N, we alternate hemispheres with the B&I Lions taking on the 4N? They could be the SH Penguins...
Posted 17:13 18th January 2012
isthatrightref says...
@ APV1 you're spot on, unlike some of the epic gun-jumpers on here. There's still 2 x 6N comps plus outbound & inbound tours to determine who makes the 1st cut, who's in the starting XV as of right, and who the captain should be. Appoint your captain too early or for the wrong reason & you could end up with another Ciaran Fitzgerald.
Posted 06:23 15th January 2012
APV1 says...
@ pogmahon - I see it from the other angle. Pick your squad, then your match-day 22, then your starting 15, then your captain. There will be so many people who are natural leaders in the Lions squad, any of whom would lead the team admirably, that they need to get the team right first.
Perhaps they need a "Tour Captain" and "Team Captains", who may or may not be the same person. We chop and change the teams and captains for the mid-week games and / or to accommodate resting / injury, so perhaps this is the way ahead. If the Tour captain is playing, he is the Team Captain, but it's not necessarily a nailed-on starter.
Actually, the more I type, the worse this sounds. But I still think you pick you squad, then 22, then 15, then captain.
Posted 12:31 13th January 2012
j615 says...
I think if the team was picked now Warburton is the only person realistically who could captain the team. He's one of the few players more or less guaranteed his position and has proven himself a good leader. Paul O'Connell has had a great career but making him Lions captain again might be a mistake. With Lawes, AW Jones, Davies and Gray in the mix guaranteeing POC one of the spots would be hard especially as the Lions tour is in 18 months time...its a long way yet!
Wales lost 3 games at the world cup but still came 4th, France lost 3 games too and got to the final. Its a knock out tournament and they did better than 16 other teams. Wales had a very good world cup and they'll be a fair few Welsh players in the Lions 22 and probably some of their coaches too.
Posted 23:01 12th January 2012
ThinkingGame says...
32 year old PO'C better than Lawes, Charteris, Gray, AW Jones or Bradley Davies?
Suit yourself.
Posted 19:31 12th January 2012
pog_mahone says...
Wales lost 3 games in the RWC (including to the Wallabies). Personally I don't believe either Gatland or Kidney are particularly good coaches. You want a winning team with belief, appoint Joe Schmidt to the job.
Posted 19:23 12th January 2012
makemehappy says...
@Rosbif - correct on the fullbacks!
Posted 13:09 12th January 2012
GCP_JONES says...
@ jontheref...
After Australia they will play in New Zealand, you make a decent point about Argentina with the fact thats it is still an amateur game there. but with them playing in the Rugby Championship (still sounds crap) it seems only fair that the Lions should tour there.
Add to the fact that if they did tour Argentina they would play the 3 tests and maybe a match or 2 against the best amateur players then be home by the end of June.
It only seems fair that they should play the Puma's. While they are at it why don't the Lions tour France.
I know it won't happen as the Lions Tours still highlight the Old Boys Club that the IRB should be strving to be rid-of.
Posted 11:38 12th January 2012
jontheref says...
GCP_JONES says...
Will they be touring Argentina in 2021?,
I hope not!
Australia is a stretch for the non test games, who on earth would they play in Argentina?
Where are they going in 2017?
Is it NZ?
SA would be unhappy at "losing out to rgentina, and going to a 16 year cycle.
I just hope the Lions have class negotiator to get good meaningful non test fixtures, that have top players, not academy players as already mentioned.
Admit the concept will be hard to keep alive with the stupid NH structure of a season, but with meaningful games, maybe 10 or 11 in total, it still breathes.
Posted 10:51 12th January 2012
GCP_JONES says...
Will they be touring Argentina in 2021?,
Scrap the whole concept, the Lion's Tours and the Baa Baa's. they will play basically academy Super 15 teams, then for the tests it will cost a fortune for the punters to go and see the games,the players will be bollixed when they get back from the tour and won't feature for their clubs until November.
Posted 09:46 12th January 2012
Rosbif says...
@ makemehappy. hehehe, agree re gethin, he's been the first name on the lions team sheet in last couple of outings imo. Just thought with age catching up on him (maybe?) and the fact he plays both sides, would be an ideal benchman to up the pace in 2nd half on some nice hard pitches. Might reconsider if we're allowed an 8th man on the bench - then he starts, and you can put specialist 1 and 3 on bench (in which case my extra man wld be Murray - also the wrong side of 33 by the tour I think?) By the way, who are your preferred fullbacks? Is it Halfpenny and Kearney?
@j615. I secretly agonised over Tuilagi and Ashton. Well, maybe agonised is too hard a term... But they should have a strong case, especially given makemehappy's point re Bowe. I see you have Lawes in there like I do. I know he divides opinion, but as a physical specimen he reminds me of some of the greats like Whetton, Benazzi, Andre Venter, etc in that somewhere between lock and 6 style - if he can get his head right, he could become a top player.
Posted 09:40 12th January 2012
Centre12 says...
Martin Johnson??? ;-)
Posted 08:05 12th January 2012
makemehappy says...
@Rosbif - you are a funny guy - no Gethin in the starting team - best player in the world in his position, by a mile. Just look at the work around the field. And well done for picking Lawes - he's been very disappoiting this year. Can't say Bowe has been playing well enough either (though fair enough he does have to play for the Ospreys). Only two fullbacks in the race for the number one spot in my opinion, and neither are Foden! Pretty hard to argue with your back row though.
Posted 19:48 11th January 2012
j615 says...
I hope its Gatland he's the best candidate: success with Wales, in England (with Wasps) and in Ireland (Connacht and the national team). He'll pick the best players for their position regardless of their nationality. He understands the home nations and the British Lions as well as crucially, the Southern Hemisphere.
Healy, Rees, Murray, Lawes, Gray, Ferris, Warburton, Faletau, Youngs, Sexton, Ashton, Roberts, Tuilagi, North, Foden.
Ford, Jenkins, AW Jones, O'Brien, Phillips, Priestland, Bowe.
I hope O'Driscoll manages to tour as well!
Posted 19:25 11th January 2012
Rosbif says...
Oooops.... cldn't resist the temptation to think about a possible team...
15 Foden, 14 Bowe, 13 Davies 12 Roberts 11 North 10 Sexton 9 Phillips 1 Healey 2 Ford 3 Cole 4 Lawes 5 Gray 6 Ferris 7 Warburton 8 Faletau 16 Jenkins 17 Hartley 18 Charteris 19 Heaslip 20 Youngs 21 Priestland 22 Halfpenny
(maybe not enough Englishmen? - be nice to find room for a Robshaw or a Strettle/Sharples wildcard. also tough to leave out SOB but back-row competition is gonna be fierce if everyone stays fit!!)
Posted 18:37 11th January 2012
melkdave says...
Lions tours are always very challanging for many reasons the lack of game time together and blending of differant playing styles just a the most notable lol.So good man mangement is a big part of a coaches job and at this Gatland excells so atm he is the clear favorite for heasd coach imo.I would love to see a coaching set up of Gatland -Edwards (defence)-Robinson(forwards) and O' Shea / Catt (backs) with Rowntree the specialist scrum coach .Idont think Howley will be available for the backs i expect him to be in charge of Wales while Gatlands away myself
Posted 16:41 11th January 2012
papachinzo says...
Kidney is too much of a Munster man. So unless you want David Wallace, Donnacha O'Callaghan, Ronan O'Gara, Paddy Wallace and Thomas O'Leary starting for the Lions, I think you might want Gatland...
If McGeechan gets it again, it will be a joke. He's an awful coach!!
Posted 15:53 11th January 2012