1
Warren Gatland is enjoying having last laugh in Eddie O'Sullivan rivalry
Warren Gatland has delivered a withering putdown of Eddie O’Sullivan, the coach who succeeded him after he was sacked as Ireland boss in 2001. The pair had worked together for two years with the Irish team, but their relationship disintegrated after O’Sullivan, who had been an assistant, replaced the Kiwi.
ADVERTISEMENT
The pair had another history, Gatland replacing O’Sullivan as Connacht coach some years earlier after his Irish rival had a falling out with the province. Gatland eventually got to settle the Test level score, guiding Wales to Triple Crown success over O’Sullivan’s Ireland at Croke Park in 2008.
O’Sullivan opted to resign some weeks later following an Ireland trouncing by England at Twickenham and while his career subsequently faded away with low-frill stints in charge of USA and Biarritz, Gatland’s status continued to soar with the Welsh following his post-Ireland rehabilitation at Wasps and Waikato.
Now back in New Zealand in charge of the Super Rugby Chiefs, the 2021 Lions coach voiced stinging criticism of his old Irish rival during an interview on The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series.
“Look, it was tough when I was replaced by Eddie O’Sullivan. I have always said that technically he was a good coach but I’d question some of his man-management skills,” said Gatland. “When I look back now, there has only been one winner in that debate. He’s not in coaching anymore and when he finished with Ireland he struggled in jobs and found it difficult to get coaching positions.”
“It’s understandable there is disappointment and disagreement about selection – I want to have a good representation of Scottish players. I desperately want that to happen”
– Warren Gatland tells @jimhamilton4 on @RugbyPass about 2021 Lions selection????????
https://t.co/r3bGjWxCAK— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 17, 2020
Having guided Connacht to a breakthrough Challenge Cup quarter-final qualification, Gatland was contacted by the IRFU to replace Brian Ashton as Irish coach after he had resigned following a defeat to Scotland in the opening match of the 1998 Five Nations.
Ireland won 18 of 38 matches in the four years Gatland was at the helm but even a 2001 Grand Slam-ruining win over England in Dublin wasn’t enough for him for secure an IRFU contract extension.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m indebted to them for the opportunities,” he said looking back 19 years after his sacking. “I was coaching in Ireland at 34 years of age and it wasn’t a job you had any security about. I think I was the ninth coach in the 90s or something. Brian Ashton resigned and I got a phone call on the Sunday, ‘Am I prepared to coach Ireland for the remainder of the Five Nations?’
“Was I ready for it? No. But sometimes you get those opportunities in life and you don’t turn them down. I learned so much the four years that I was involved with Ireland. It was the grounding of those experiences that really made me such a better coach when I moved on.
“I look back and I don’t have any hard feelings about that. What disappoints me at times is people say with the Brian O’Driscoll situation, leaving him out of the third Test against Australia for the Lions, it was kind of me trying to punish the Irish for my experiences there.
“When you’re a coach and you’re desperate to win a game, you don’t think about those things. People at times think I was anti-Irish. I was never anti-Irish. I have got some great friends there and the opportunities they gave me, I can’t express how lucky I was.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Bryn learned to talk in Ireland so he had a strong Irish accent until he was about 13 or 14… and he has still got a bit of that twang. That was special, and Shauna was born in Ireland, so for us it was where I first had my chances when the game went professional.
“They gave me a chance to coach professionally, initially with Connacht and then with Ireland, so special times. Through disappointment or through adversity, it makes you stronger and you learn from those situations.
“I definitely learned from the experiences I had as such a young coach. That gave me such a great grounding and I learned so much. It made me such a better coach going forward from my time there.”
“I’m not sitting here and thinking about what do I have to do over the next few years to be the All Black coach. Definitely not”
– Lions boss Warren Gatland tells @jimhamilton4 on @RugbyPass how isn’t consumed by desire to take charge of New Zealand ??https://t.co/bRfG6iF6xA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 17, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
7 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to comments