Warren Gatland, head coach of Wales. Photo / Getty Images.
Warren Gatland, head coach of Wales. Photo / Getty Images.
Eddie Jones was calling for the wrong person to be on stage, in his place, at the world rugby awards.
Rising England maestro Jones said All Blacks boss Steve Hansen was still The Man and deserved to be coach of the year.
I doubt many New Zealanders feel Hansen wasrobbed.
The winner should have been Warren Gatland, whose underrated feat in stirring the British and Irish Lions to a series draw in New Zealand pipped all other achievements this year.
Maybe that should read all other achievements in the men's game, but I'll stick to the men in this argument because I'm not sure how to compare them to the vastly different women's arena.
Yes, England won the Six Nations...but significantly without a clean sweep.
And England often win the Six Nations, or should. They are the powerhouses of European rugby, over-resourced heavyweights against cut-price neighbours and an Italian punching bag.
One of the few people who is not fooled by Eddie Jones is Eddie Jones. Teams are building for the World Cup, ducking and diving. His hat-tipping to Hansen was just another strategy. In contrast, Lions tours are all-or-nothing.
Aussie Jones has got the rugby press eating out of his hand. He is great stuff — a genuine, interesting and very likeable character, who attracts attention. He has some amazing achievements on his CV.
But that is not what the award is for.
This year's choice was tough, but Gatland was robbed for my money. He tamed the mighty All Blacks, whereas Jones didn't even have to face them.
Gatland has an image problem, for whatever reasons.
But he pulled a series draw out of a hat after his Lions were universally touted as cannon fodder in New Zealand, the hardest place to tour by far. Graham Henry called the 10-match assignment a "suicide mission".
Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland share a laugh after the drawn third test at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
Consider the Lions' history.
Prior to 2017, they had played 11 series here, won one, and lost 10.
They have won a mere seven out of 41 tests against New Zealand. Their record in South Africa, the other tough place to tour, is not much better.
For all of the mystique and legends associated with the Lions concept, and it is a wonderful one, they lose against decent teams. Truth be told, the rightly famous 1971 winners faced a poor All Black outfit.
The Lions' task may be even tougher now when a team like the All Blacks enjoy cohesive preparation on a different planet to what the Lions can envisage.
In the good old days, the All Blacks got together just before the tests so the Lions had a preparation advantage.
The last time the Lions came here, in 2005, a highly rated team with overblown preparations were blown away.
Gatland arrived with key test players — notably the rampaging England No 8 Billy Vunipola — missing. The natural tour leader, classy Welsh loose forward Sam Warburton, was injury affected.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read and the Lions skipper Sam Warburton. Photo / Photosport
Crucially and uniquely, Gatland's Lions had to play two matches at Fortress Eden Park, where the All Blacks are unbeaten since 1994. This was always a huge and unfair factor.
Gatland got big selection decisions right, sticking with a clever inside back combination and retaining faith in workhorse Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones.
Facing a team which was superior man-for-man and driven by the best halves combo in the world, they often outplayed the All Blacks in attacking inventiveness.
They also found an early glimmer of hope by scoring one of the best tries in rugby history, finished off by Irish flanker Sean O'Brien.
However he did it — whether through player driven decisions or not — Gatland got the Lions right for the big one, a series-levelling draw at Eden Park where the All Blacks had promised to set the record straight at their favourite ground.
Disrespectful post tour comments from O'Brien and Vunipola (incredibly, since he wasn't even there) tell you the sort of schisms that a Lions coach has to deal with. Previous coaches like Henry, in particular, know all about the divisions which can wreck a Lions campaign.
If Woodward or Jones (or another press favourite Henry for that matter) had coached the Lions to a draw in New Zealand, I reckon they would have won the world award.
Gatland's Lions highlighted how bad Woodward's side was 12 years ago.
Woodward was a judge for this year's awards, presented in Monaco. Wonder how he voted?
