The former Wales head coach on what might have been at the World Cup, looking forward to the Lions and whether he’ll one day coach the All Blacks“Absolutely,” Warren Gatland says when he is asked if he would still love to coach the All Blacks one day. “I went back and gave my reasons why I just couldn’t apply for the job right now. I’ve got it on my phone.”
There is a long pause while the New Zealander, who has just completed 12 years as head coach of Wales and took them to their second
World Cup semi-final under him last month in
Japan, flicks through his emails. The 56-year-old Gatland is a principled man and so, out of respect for Mike Anthony,
New Zealand Rugby’s high performance manager, he requests that I don’t use verbatim quotes from his emailed reply in which he explains his reasons for not putting his name forward as the next All Black coach.