Warren Gatland will take charge of Wales for the 117th time on Saturday – and the last in Cardiff. Robin Davey says it should be a time for assessment and gratitude towards a coach who delivered more teams, more depth, and more honours than any of his predecessors.
The World Cup may be just around the corner but before that comes the end of a remarkable era. For on Saturday, Warren Gatland will take charge of Wales for the final time in Cardiff.
When Wales run out on to the Principality Stadium pitch for their last home World Cup warm-up game against Ireland, Gatland will be making his farewell at the famous ground.
Whatever the result, or whatever the performance, it will be a special and emotional occasion as Gatland brings the curtain down on his 12 years at the helm at Wales’ headquarters.
It has been a remarkable decade and a bit for a man who has taken Wales to his heart – and who, despite a few bumps along the road, has found his affection pretty much reciprocated by the Welsh public.
It wasn’t always the case. Wales have just scaled the heights by being officially ranked the number one team in the world, an incredible achievement for such a small nation, but not so long ago Gatland was being vilified.
His accusers were many as they berated his seemingly limited approach, which basically centred around a crash-ball tactic, mainly via Jamie Roberts taking the ball up and crashing through the middle.
The tactic was christened “Warrenball” – though Gatland denied any knowledge of it and was bemused and annoyed at such a term.
Be that as it may, Wales gradually grew out of it and adopted a more expansive approach which led to Gatland being ultimately applauded as more honours and titles came Wales’ way.
As he prepares to take his leave of his adopted country, the New Zealander has a proud record – resulting in Wales winning four Six Nations titles and three Grand Slams, the most recent coming last season when they demolished Ireland.
Since Gatland took over in 2007 he has also coached Wales to the semi-finals of the World Cup, an occasion I was privileged to witness when they were cruelly denied by France following skipper Sam Warburton’s controversial sending-off.
Since then, Gatland guided Wales to a record 14 wins in a row, en-route to achieving that world number one status.
Not only has he worked wonders with Wales, but he has performed similar miracles with the Lions as they have drawn a Test series with the All Blacks and won another in Australia.
Gatland will return to his native New Zealand after the World Cup with his head held high.
He will depart with accolades ringing in his ears. Dragons chairman David Buttress said this week for example, “Warren Gatland’s greatest achievement is that we now expect to win.”
For me, Gatland’s finest quality is his man management – his ability to get the best out of players, the way he understands them, their personal strengths and weaknesses, and what motivates them.
He is also a terrific tactician, is fully aware of the opposition strengths and weaknesses, and produces the goods time after time.
He is supremely strong, mentally, and in more recent times he has developed a depth which Wales never previously had. Whereas, they had struggled for numbers, now there can be as many as three players fighting for every position. Much of the credit is down to Gatland growing experience and opportunity within the squad.
On a personal note, I always found Gatland straightforward and easy to deal with. The banter between us about players and performances is something I will always remember fondly.
Once Gatland has gone, he will be replaced by another Kiwi in Wayne Pivac, who decamped to West Wales to take charge of the Scarlets.
They will be mighty big shoes for Pivac to fill and after looking a pretty obvious choice, initially, doubts began to emerge last season when the Scarlets had a dismal time by their standards.
But Pivac it is – yet another New Zealander at the helm following in the footstep of Gatland, Steve Hansen and Graham Henry.
Where Pivac leads Wales remains to be seen. In some ways, he is similar to Gatland – direct in his communication and not someone inclined to hide his opinions.
In other ways, he will have benefitted from spending a long time in Wales before he became national coach – an acclimatisation process Gatland did not have, although the current coach did have the benefit of time spent in Ireland and England.
Of course, the crowning glory for Gatland would be if Wales go on to win the World Cup.
That seems a huge task, but whether they succeed or not, Gatland has been a tower of strength at the helm and he richly merits a rousing reception at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Fans have grown to appreciate him greatly and what he has done for Wales.
I hope the Welsh Rugby Union have got something special lined up for him. It will be no more than he deserves.