Rugby: Guernsey islanders livid over special treatment given to British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland

Warren Gatland...special treatment. Photo/Photosport

Lions coach Warren Gatland has caused an uproar after he was given special dispensation to visit Guernsey where he wants to set up a rugby camp.

Kiwi Gatland wanted to assess Guernsey – an island near the French coast - as a potential site for his British and Irish Lions to gather for 10 days before they head to South Africa in June.

But it has caused ructions on the island, a self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom.

Strict border controls are in place because of Covid-19 and the island's former chief minister Gavin St Pier said he was "uncomfortable" with the exemptions given to Gatland.

The Guernsey Press quoted a woman who demanded to know why her family was kept separate on important occasions, while Gatland was allowed onto the island.

Katie Walters, who lives in the UK, said her Guernsey family was not allowed to meet her new baby. She in turn had missed the birth of her niece, and her parents' golden wedding.

"Why is there one rule for one person and a different set of rules for everyone else?" Walters asked.

"Now I want answers, from whoever made the decision to invite Warren Gatland to the island without the need to quarantine.

"Why was he not shown the facilities available by Zoom? Are any islanders that he came into contact with now in two-week isolation as a precaution?."

The Guernsey Press reported "many locals getting in touch with the local media to voice their disappointment".

Gatland made a lone visit to the island, meeting with officials after Guernsey's director of public health put rules in place.

Gatland said: "I haven't been able to go anywhere without a mask.

"I was tested before I arrived, I was tested Friday, again (on Saturday and Sunday).

"With Guernsey particularly we don't know what the (pandemic) situation will be like in June as we are preparing, but the opportunity for things to be open is an attractive idea, especially as these guys have been in stringent bubbles as far as the Six Nations was concerned."

The chief executive of States of Guernsey Paul Whitfield backed the rules instituted for Gatland's visit, saying the island's Covid regulations were flexible when needed.

"We take border restrictions very seriously - it is one of the reasons we have been so successful in managing the pandemic," he said.

"We have seen this in the way we have controlled, monitored and tested essential visitors to the island and we're grateful to Mr Gatland for understanding the need for us to put strict measures in place."