Is Warren Gatland a good coach?

Question

Is Warren Gatland a good coach?

Answer 1

One of the best

Answer 2

Gatland joined London Wasps in 2002 in a coaching position before taking over as Director of Rugby when Nigel Melville left to join Gloucester RFC. He took the team for the bottom of the English championship to safety in his first few months. After this success he went on to lead Wasps to 3 consecutive Guinness Premiership titles (2003, 2004 & 2005) and the Heineken Cup in 2004.

He returned to New Zealand, in 2005,to take over coaching the Waikato National Provincial Championship (NPC) side. The NPC was superseded by the Air New Zealand Cup in 2006, Gatland took Waikato to the first title of the new competition, beating Wellington in the final. He joined the Waikato Chiefs Super 14 team in 2006 as technical advisor.

His stint with the Ireland national side was not particularly successful in terms of results but he is acknowledged as having installed the fundamentals that allowed the current group of players to enjoy a fair amount of success in the years that followed his tenure (with Eddie O'Sullivan in charge).

Gatland played one hundred and forty times for Waikato and spent  four years playing second/third fiddle to Sean Fitzpatrick (arguably the best hooker of all time) who held the All Blacks number two shirt during the peak of Gatland's career..

Graham Henry, Brian Ashton, Eddie O'Sullivan and Bernard Laporte are all clearly good coaches but Gatland brings something else to the table as an international coach. None of the above were particularly good players whereas Gatland experienced life as a rugby player both before and after the advent of professionalism. When he asks a player to put his head where most people wouldn't put their foot that player knows that Gatland has been there, seen it, done it.

Gatland is an excellent coach and a very clever man and I believe he is the best man for the Wales job.