Rugby: Gatland returns fire at old foe Hansen

Warren Gatland.

Warren Gatland has had a dig back at Steve Hansen after the All Blacks coach said Gatland should give up coaching if he hated the British & Irish Lions tour so much.

Gatland, now back with Wales, said he was done with the Lions following the draw tour of New Zealand in June and July, a tour in which he enjoyed success but disliked immensely the perceived criticism from the media.

Hansen's recent quip that fellow Kiwi Gatland should just give up coaching if he was that way inclined received a response in the Guardian - Gatland is doing a series of interviews promoting his book of the tour, which quoted him as saying: "I hadn't heard that. He [Hansen] is taking criticism in New Zealand because they could have lost to South Africa and were beaten by Australia. Steve always gives an honest opinion. That's why we joked [after the drawn series] because he holds the record for consecutive losses as Wales coach. So he can't have been enjoying himself."

The reference to Hansen's often tough time at Wales isn't likely to bother the All Blacks coach, but it's another insight into Gatland's surprising sensitivity. He bristled at times during the New Zealand tour under gentle questioning - audibly swearing at one point - and he remains a man who won't settle for anything less than having the last word.

The Guardian also asked him whether he felt his achievements in northern hemisphere rugby are belittled in New Zealand. "Probably," Gatland replied. "But you've got to be very careful because Kiwis don't respond well to criticism. So I'd say that, technically, there's some excellent coaching in the northern hemisphere. There has to be because you don't get the finished article in the northern hemisphere. In New Zealand, when you get to the top you'll have a No9 who passes off both ends and kicks off both feet. He communicates, he's quick and intelligent. So you focus on tactical strategies. Over here we're still concentrating very much on technical aspects."

Gatland has said he is done with the Lions after coaching them in Australia four years ago - another controversial tour after he dropped Brian O'Driscoll - and New Zealand, but it seems the door isn't fully shut yet. The Lions tour South Africa in 2021.

"I think it always is," he told the Guardian. "I said 'I'm done' but a cynical part of me was thinking: 'All right, let someone else do it and see how hard it is. When it fails people might actually say what we did in 2017 and 2013 was pretty special.'"

Who would he pick, apart from himself, as the next Lions head coach? "I'd like to see Eddie Jones do it. Considering that Billy Vunipola said the Lions would have won 3-0 in New Zealand if Eddie had been coach, I'd like to ask Billy why they didn't win in Dublin to win the Six Nations."

During the interview Gatland is asked about the collisions in test rugby these days. The three tests this year between the All Blacks and Lions were among the most intense seen at Eden Park and Westpac Stadium.

"I've been on the sidelines of some big games and even I'm scared watching the collisions," Gatland said, echoing a recent point made by All Blacks assistant Wayne Smith before he stepped down.

"We've not seen the impact rugby will have on these young men," Gatland said. "What's going to happen in the next 10 or 20 years in terms of them needing new knees, new hips, back and neck injuries? And no one's sure of the real consequences of concussion. So the length of the season definitely has an impact. But so does the size and power of the players.

"There is an argument you could go back to the old situation where it was only injury replacements. Then players would have to last 80 minutes and maybe that reduces the impact. The parallels between rugby and American football are obvious - but 70 years apart. We're now facing concussion and there is talk about padding coming in, and replacements. The money, the athletes and the problems are getting bigger."