Gatland for Lions coach? Oh god i hope not :(

[AlynDavies]

Am I the only one extremely worried about all this talk linking Gatland for the Lions job? 5 Games into his job and the Lions comitee are already thinking about making him head coach, I hope the WRU have enough sense to block this before it comes back to bite us on the backside.
Appointing Henry as coach og the Lions for the Australia Tour wrecked our players confidance in him, then during the last tour most of Wales players came back with their confidance shot to pieces or badly injured. Surely its time to scrap the Lions their a waste of time in modern rugby.

 

[Bullitt]

I suppose you're also all for scrapping the BaaBaas?

 

[Cymro]

Am I the only one extremely worried about all this talk linking Gatland for the Lions job? 5 Games into his job and the Lions comitee are already thinking about making him head coach, I hope the WRU have enough sense to block this before it comes back to bite us on the backside.
Appointing Henry as coach og the Lions for the Australia Tour wrecked our players confidance in him, then during the last tour most of Wales players came back with their confidance shot to pieces or badly injured. Surely its time to scrap the Lions their a waste of time in modern rugby. [/b]

No chance ... the traditions of playing for the Lions and BaaBaa's are immense! Britsh players recoginse playing for the Lions as an amazing honour and always will, stoping a tradition that occurs every 4 years is not really a problem in modern rugby, yes Wales did suffer last tour but that was unlucky!

As for Gatland im not so sure, id rather see a McGeechan and Jake White combo personally!

 

[Busko]

I didn't knew there were people in the Uk supporting the elimination of the Lions....

 

[dullonien]

I'm kinda concerned with Gatland taking the job, he needs to just concentrate on Wales at this moment in time. In my view, the Lions coach shouldn't be one of the current home nations coaches, as they are personally and proffessionaly attached to one of the teams already. Wouldn't it make it hard to be impartial, there's always the danger of upsetting your collegues through not picking them etc.

As Cymro said, Jake White and or McGeechan are the perfect candidates. Once Gatland finishes with Wales, then he'd be a great Lions coach who could mould a team in the short period of time available.

 

[Macsen]

Gatland should give it a miss I think. As he said on Scrum V yesterday it's a political role as well as a coaching one. Minefield alert! Danger Will Robinson! Send McGeechan in.

However, I'd like to see a one off end of year test between a Six Nations XV against a Tri Nations XV, with the winning coaches taking charge of both. Sergio Parisse derserves to be in a great team at some point...

 

[AlynDavies]

No I love the Barbarians, I think their brilliant and have watched ALL the games they have played against Wales in my lifetime.
What im saying is Gatland has been in the Wales job for only a couple of Months and yet the Lions are already putitng him in as the front runner for the Lions role, what iud like is for once Wales is put first and our coach is given a chance to concentrate on his day job!
Wales has taken the brunt of the last two lions tours more than any other nation surely its time they looked elsewhere and left us alone for a change.
There hasnt been a half decent Lions tour since 1997 so I really dont see the point in them continuing to exist all it does is place us at a massive disadvantage because the tri nations and France have an extra summer of touring and rest while our players are flogged to death on a micky mouse tour, than means nothing.

 

[RC]

No, never get rid of the Lions!
Are you serious? The Lions tour is awesome and I always look forward to it. Just because the Lions tour didn't work out too well last time it most certainly isn't a reason to scrap the idea. It's still a professional's dream to play for the Lions and i'm sure it's only a very small minority of people who are of the opinion that the Lions should be gotten rid of.

 

[Prestwick]

Am I the only one extremely worried about all this talk linking Gatland for the Lions job? 5 Games into his job and the Lions comitee are already thinking about making him head coach, I hope the WRU have enough sense to block this before it comes back to bite us on the backside.
Appointing Henry as coach og the Lions for the Australia Tour wrecked our players confidance in him, then during the last tour most of Wales players came back with their confidance shot to pieces or badly injured. Surely its time to scrap the Lions their a waste of time in modern rugby. [/b]

What in the hell are you talking about? :blink:



The Lions are not a waste of time, on the contary, they symbolise tradition yet modernity, passion & pride as well as reconcilliation and togetherness. It is quite simply one of the greatest sporting enterprises out there today. Apart from the BarBars there is literally nothing like it and that is something which everyone on these sceptered islands, from end to end, should be proud of and shout to the ceilings.



If the Lions die in the same of selfish self serving politics and negative cynisim, it will be a very, very sad day for Home Nations rugby.

EDIT: I'd agree with McGeechan being at the head of this enterprise. He's fantastic because he's the bane of the Southern Hemisphere.

 

[An Tarbh]

Am I the only one extremely worried about all this talk linking Gatland for the Lions job? 5 Games into his job and the Lions comitee are already thinking about making him head coach, I hope the WRU have enough sense to block this before it comes back to bite us on the backside.
Appointing Henry as coach og the Lions for the Australia Tour wrecked our players confidance in him, then during the last tour most of Wales players came back with their confidance shot to pieces or badly injured. Surely its time to scrap the Lions their a waste of time in modern rugby.
[/b]

What seafoid scrapping the Lions.

Going by what you're saying you'd swear Gatland's coaching career is all of 5 games old, he does have a fair bit of experience behind and no little success either.

The WRU blocked Ruddock going on the last Lions tour to protect the Welsh setup and a fat lot of good that did.

Henry isn't half the coach that Gatland is in my opinion so you're not comparing like with like, a grand slam and HEC winning coach as opposed to someone who'd won the Super 12, (only using his pre-Lions record here).

 

[Cymro]

I like the Lions because of the brillaint dvd's they produce!

 

[RC]

Serious? Woodward had such an input on the last Lions dvd that it was more like a 2 hour promotional video rather than the great insight into the touring lives of our great Lions (as per the previous two tours).

 

[candybum]

ahh Woodward and his amazing 50(?) + squad that toured NZ lol

 

[Vambo]

Unfortunately the last Lions tour in 2005 was seen to be nothing but a money making venture.
It began with a £££££ spinner 'home' game against Argentina at Cardiff and continued as little more than promotion for the Adidas red shirt as the Lions got hammered in NZ.
After the tour it was declared a success despite what happened on the field
The 2009 tour needs to go a whole lot better... Woodwards choices of Robinson (bang out of form and was shite on that tour... Back (way past his best) and Wilkinson (no way should he have been first choice 10) did a lot of damage with relations with the other nations especially the Welsh.
Perhaps Jake White would be the perfect choice to head up the coaching team because he won't have the national baggage that comes with Brit coaches when it comes to picking the team?

 

[Cymro]

Serious? Woodward had such an input on the last Lions dvd that it was more like a 2 hour promotional video rather than the great insight into the touring lives of our great Lions (as per the previous two tours). [/b]

2005 was an exception but 1997 and 2001 were briliant mind!

 

[candybum]

After the tour it was declared a success despite what happened on the field

[/b]

May i ask how it was dubbed a "success"? was it because they gained profit out of it as you mentioned about money? Not having a go mate. Wouldn't be surprised if Woodward said it lol

And i agree about Wilkinson then... wasn't he like injured for yonks and was selected in the XV despite having little game time?

 

[Vambo]

<div class='quotemain'>
After the tour it was declared a success despite what happened on the field

[/b]

May i ask how it was dubbed a "success"? was it because they gained profit out of it as you mentioned about money? Not having a go mate. Wouldn't be surprised if Woodward said it lol

And i agree about Wilkinson then... wasn't he like injured for yonks and was selected in the XV despite having little game time?
[/b][/quote]


They put a lot of 'spin' on it after the tour... citing the number of fans who travelled, the money put into the local economy etc, etc... they sold a hell of a lot of Lions shirts and merchandise over here (even I bought 2 different shirts).
Off the field it was a success but where it really matters it was a bit of a disaster as far as I'm concerned.

I really hope they can turn it around in SA next year.

 

[stormmaster1]

Personally i would love to see Gatland take on a Lions role (with Edwards). I think they have shown that they can get a side to change remarkably and gel together in a short space of time. good attributes for Lions coaches. And they are ruthless. I would trust them to have less bias than others, especially as they have a good working knowledge of the European players.

 

[nick_w]

Gatland and Edwards would be fantastic, yet I'm afraid I'm setting up in the McGeech's camp.

Yes, G&E have done wonders for Wales in a very short space of time, but I think McGeechan has the experience. He knows how to win a test series in South Africa, and whilst it has changed over the past 11 years, the message is still the same.

Although 2005 could be deemed a success by the accountants, it was a disaster on the pitch. Too many English players who were there because of Woodwards blatant biasness, too many build up matches resulting in injuries, Alastair Campbell as a PR man!

You've got to be able to bond quickly on tour, and Woodward didn't let that happen. What you need is this sort of thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AadIGJMkEFE

Enough of that. Gatland would be a good Lions coach, but IMHO, McGeechan would be better, with Shaun Edwards as an assistant. Lets just keep Andy Robinson away from the equation shall we.

 

[Prestwick]

Unfortunately the last Lions tour in 2005 was seen to be nothing but a money making venture.
It began with a £££££ spinner 'home' game against Argentina at Cardiff and continued as little more than promotion for the Adidas red shirt as the Lions got hammered in NZ.[/b]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The game against Argentina was justified as the players needed all the game time together they can get. You have to take into account that none of these players really work together day in day out in such a capacity and thus, you need to form bonds and playing relationships quickly.

As for the Lions getting hammered in NZ, thats the luck of the draw with the Lions. Check your history and you'll find glorious failures as well as stunning victories. The Lions will always be an uphill battle and it isn't fair to label it as a "money making venture."

I don't think anyone labelled it a "success." That just sounds like more cynical and negative comments to me...