SM
Man Utd vs. PAOK: 4 hrs 1 min
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Warren Gatland insists he has assembled the best Lions coaching team available

:Headline: Warren Gatland insists he has assembled the best Lions coaching team available:
Scotland boss Gregor Townsend will mastermind the attack and his international colleague Steve Tandy will oversee the defence.
Sports Mole

Warren Gatland insists he has assembled the best available British and Irish Lions coaching team after it was confirmed that none of Eddie Jones' England assistants would be travelling to South Africa.

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend will mastermind the attack and his international colleague Steve Tandy will oversee the defence, both of them profiting from a strong Six Nations notable for impressive away wins over England and France.

Completing the trio of Lions coaching debutants is the appointment of Leinster's Robin McBryde to take charge of the forwards, while Neil Jenkins of Wales returns for his fourth tour as kicking coach.

Lions coaching team (from left to right): Robin McBryde, Steve Tandy, Warren Gatland, Gregor Townsend and Neil Jenkins (Inpho handout/PA)

Gatland had planned to take Andy Farrell, Steve Borthwick and Graham Rowntree to South Africa, but all three were forced to withdraw.

It means there is no English representation on the coaching team, while England's worst Six Nations performance on record has also seen Jones' lieutenants John Mitchell, Matt Proudfoot and Simon Amor overlooked.

"It's nothing to do with 'do I feel like I need an English coach?', it's about me picking who I think are going to be the best fit for myself," Gatland said.

"It is people who I want to work with, people I've worked with in the past and people I think will work well as a group.

"No one made an issue of it in the past when we haven't had Scottish coaches. It's not about that.

None of Eddie Jones' coaching team have been recruited by the Lions (David Davies/PA)

"It's just about trying to pick who you think are the best people to come into your environment, people who I think I can work well with and hopefully put a good team together."

Gatland confirmed that his preference for the three-Test series against South Africa was for Ireland head coach Farrell to run the defence, Borthwick of Leicester to prepare the forwards and Munster's Rowntree to take charge of the scrum.

But by late last week, it became clear that Gatland would have to activate his contingency plan.

"There's no doubt that it's been eventful. I've known for a long time that Andy Farrell wasn't potentially going to be available to us," said Gatland in reference to Ireland's summer tour.

"I had spoken to Gregor a number of weeks ago about Steve Tandy as a possibility and he was very complimentary about him.

"We've felt their defence has probably been the best in the Championship last year and this year.

Warren Gatland could add another assistant to his coaching team at a later date (David Davies/PA)

"That for me was a relatively easy one, already knowing that Andy was unlikely to be available.

"Steve and Graham were different. Steve is an incredibly honourable person and he felt that Leicester is his day job and he needs to be there at the helm.

"With Graham it was a different situation. My philosophy has always been 'family first'.

"He'd been trying to get his family to come over from Leicester to Limerick for the last couple of years.

"They'd finally moved over and he was trying to get them settled in. He just felt that being away for eight weeks, possibly 10 weeks with quarantine as well, was too much."

Gatland, who is considering adding another coach at a later date, insists the Lions will benefit from "new voices and a fresh perspective".

"I am very pleased to have assembled such a high-quality coaching team," Gatland said.

"A Lions tour is a unique challenge so it's important to have some continuity in the coaching group, but it's also important to have new voices and a fresh perspective.

"The buzz I really got was having the phone call with Robin and Steve Tandy, asking them to come on board.

"Their response was unbelievable, brilliant. Steve said to me 'Oh my God, I'm shaking at the knees, I'm just so excited'.

"Robin said 'I don't know what to do with myself, I'm walking round the apartment'. I thought their response was exactly what I wanted to hear in terms of them coming on board."

body check tags ::

amp_article__443008 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-06-25 12:22:35:
html db last update - 2021-06-25 12:22:35 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Warren Gatland

Click here for more stories about British and Irish Lions

Share this article now:
WB
Read Next:
Warren Gatland announces new coaching team for Lions' South Africa tour
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Warren Gatland Steve Tandy Eddie Jones Gregor Townsend Robin McBryde Andy Farrell Neil Jenkins Graham Rowntree Steve Borthwick Rugby Union
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Warren Gatland announces new coaching team for Lions' South Africa tour
Have Palmer, Rice made the cut? Lee Carsley's final England squad revealed!

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Have Palmer, Rice made the cut? Lee Carsley's final England squad revealed!

1

HP

Recalls for Rodrygo, Camavinga: Possible Real Madrid XI vs. Osasuna

2

RF

Blocking exits? Liverpool 'lay out January strategy' amid Alexander-Arnold talk

NEW

3

BE

Preview: Caykur Rizespor vs. Trabzonspor - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

4

PC

Preview: Brighton vs. Man City - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PB

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Osasuna - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PR

No waiting around: League One boss 'a leading contender' for Coventry job

7

NW

Preview: Groningen vs. Sparta - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PG

Preview: Brentford vs. Bournemouth - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PB

Cubarsi concern: Barcelona injury, suspension news vs. Real Sociedad

10

CC


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .