Rugby: Warren Gatland's the man to inspire British and Irish Lions to success in South Africa

Warren Gatland knows how to get the best out of the Lions. Photo / Photosport

There are so many threats to the British and Irish Lions, so many vested interests squeezing them towards oblivion, grudgingly acknowledging their worth only to put in place match schedules that should be displayed under a sadomasochism billing, that it was a relief to learn this week that the Lions want Warren Gatland to head up the coaching for the 2021 tour to South Africa.

Gatland is this generation's Sir Ian McGeechan, a man who gets what the Lions are all about, who knows what makes players from Britain and Ireland tick, who understands the power of the jersey, who realises that time is so short on any tour that personality and empowerment are the key drivers towards success, not detail and drilling.

Gatland is aware this is a position for a coach with one hand tied behind his back, realising, as was shown to distressing effect in New Zealand in 2017, that there is only so much sharp-end coaching you can do when several of your players are falling asleep on the way to the opening match as they struggle to shake off jetlag from insane itineraries.

That does not make Gatland a lackey, a mere sop when it comes to agreeing to such ludicrous restrictions and getting on with making the best of a bad job. As with McGeechan before him, Gatland has always studiously submitted his end-of-tour report with a plea for more preparation time, only for it seemingly to end up in the waste-paper basket as administrators bow to pressure and trim the Lions from eight to six and now, crazily, to five weeks.

In that regard, it was heartening to see the Lions have drafted Jason Leonard to a front-of-house position as chairman of the board.

If Leonard can bring as much punch and drive to that role as he did to messing with opposition prop forwards for the best part of two decades, then it will be a good, long-overdue thing. The former England and Harlequins player needs to crack a few heads in committee rooms.

Few people seem to appreciate the value of the Lions, not in terms of money generated but in the feel-good vibe that they bring to the sport and in the profile that they project every four years.

Multinational companies spend huge sums on marketing campaigns to put out a positive image of their product. The Lions do that as a matter of course, not only enthralling a loyal band of followers but also drawing in thousands of fringe fans who might only have a vague interest in rugby but who are entranced by the notion of four teams merging into one, for the greater good.

Of course, the clubs want their pound of flesh and to protect their competitions.

But if the Lions go well, the spin-offs benefit everyone. Gatland knows this.

There are times when change is a good thing, a sign of a dynamic organisation, a prerequisite for success. The Lions are different. They stand still because of what they represent: an old-fashioned romantic adventure in a modern context. The support-staff network and off-field operations are as slick and streamlined as any sporting outfit, as they should be.

Many thought that the Lions would not survive in the professional era. In fact, they have grown stronger in the minds of the public because of those pressures.

The British and Irish cohorts ought not to have had much chance of victory in Australia six years ago under Gatland's tutelage. But they did. As they did in the series-shaping second test against the All Blacks in Wellington in 2017, then doing what so many have failed to do when holding New Zealand to a draw seven days later in Auckland.

Gatland is the right man because he knows you cannot approach the mission in the same manner that he is preparing Wales for the World Cup in Japan. There has been a four-year build-up to this point for Wales. The Lions head coach has a few days hands-on to get it sorted. Eddie Jones was probably alluding to the fact that there is so little time for coaching when he referred to the position as "an ambassador job ... in a blazer".

The jibe belittles the task that faces a Lions head coach. Coaching the Lions is a supreme exercise in man-management. Gatland, 55, has had enough opprobrium to do a Steve Redgrave and vow never to do the job again.

GB's greatest Olympic rower won further gold in Sydney four years after his "Anybody who sees me in a boat has my permission to shoot me" remark in Atlanta in 1996. There is every chance that Gatland will also strike gold again in South Africa.

- Telegraph Group Ltd