While Gatland was on his way back to New Zealand to undertake a fortnight of quarantine his record as a head coach came under scrutiny, and saw him denigrated in some quarters following the 2021 Lions last-gasp penalty defeat in the Third Test of the Covid series against South Africa.
Attempts to saddle Gatland with the yoke of being a negative, defence-first-and-last coach appeared to be a reaction to premature suggestions from within the Lions administrative hierarchy that he was already front-runner for the Australia 2025 head coach role.
Whatever anyone thinks about his suitability to take on the job again Down Under in four years’ time, the idea of deliberately using the unsatisfactory tactical template of the recent tour as a means of smearing his record, while ignoring his versatility and the length and breadth of his achievements, beggars belief.
It would be wrong to suggest that Gatland be given sacred cow status, and a misrepresentation to say that, like every coach and player, his career has been error-free. However, there is no more valid statement in Rugby Union than the one which says if you want to know how good a coach is, just look at his record.
Even allowing for the narrowest of defeats by South Africa in a fractious, often acrimonious series in which the Lions were even less prepared than the Springboks – who at least did not have to build a team from scratch – attempts to undermine Gatland’s coaching credentials are an absurdity.
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