KEY POINTS:
Reappointed Waikato coach Warren Gatland turned his back on a United Kingdom coaching deal so lucrative he could have retired in three years' time.
Gatland, who this week signed a contract that will keep him at Waikato until the end of the 2009 season, came within the stroke
of a pen of returning to Europe in a megabucks deal.
Having won three consecutive English Premierships with Wasps, the former Ireland coach's services are prized in Europe. And, with his path to the upper tiers of New Zealand coaching blocked by the reappointment of Ian Foster and David Nucifora to the Chiefs and Blues Super 14 franchises, he was tempted to return there.
"The money being offered was significant - huge actually," Gatland said. "We've done pretty well overseas in terms of being financially secure but it meant I could have done three years overseas and then come back and retired. That's how good the deal would have been."
Gatland declined to name the club, saying only that it was in the UK. He had, however, gone as far as negotiating a release from his Waikato contract before deciding to remain with the union for whom he stands third on the all-time appearance list as a player.
A desire to provide some stability for his daughter, Gabby, 14, and son Bryn, 12, as well as loyalty to Waikato's players and administrators were key factors behind his decision to stay. The lure of the All Blacks job was "definitely not" a factor.
Having been through the grinder once already with Ireland, whom he took over at 34, Gatland, now 43, would have to think twice before again setting foot into the "goldfish bowl" of international rugby.
"Everyone aspires to it; you say to yourself 'that would be a nice job to do'. But then you've got to weigh up all the external pressures that come with a job like that. It's not what's driving me at the moment. At the moment, I'm really excited about Waikato.
"Hopefully in a couple of years I might get an opportunity at Super 14 and, if you are successful, you get chances to step up. But if you're not [successful] then you stay where you are or someone says 'see you later', that's the nature of the job."
Gatland's track record makes him a dark horse to take over from Graham Henry after the World Cup but he knows a rise as meteoric as the one that catapulted him from a rookie coach at Connacht into the Ireland job is extremely unlikely.
"I've learned that success overseas doesn't really cut the mustard here in New Zealand. The only way to get respect is by having success here. We've had that last year and it's about trying to continue on in that way."
With the inaugural Air NZ Cup title tucked under their belt under Gatland's stewardship, Waikato looks likely to be the chief benefactor of his decision to earn his spurs in the third tier of the local game.
"At the moment I'm here and I'm giving my heart and soul to here. I was the same at Wasps and in Ireland. That's the only way you can do this job."
WARREN GATLAND
Age: 43
Born: Hamilton
Educated: Hamilton Boys' High School, Waikato University.
Position: Hooker
Province: Waikato (1986-1994) 140 games.
International: All Blacks (1988-1991), 17 matches, 0 tests.
Teams coached: Taupiri, Galwegians, Thames Valley, Connact, Ireland, Wasps, Waikato.
Trophies won: NPC Third division (with Thames), English Premiership (2003-2005), English Challenge Cup (2003), European Cup (2004), Air NZ Cup (Waikato) 2006.