Warren Gatland, all guns blazing

Feb 24 2008 by Simon Roberts, Wales On Sunday

WARREN GATLAND has taken a swipe at Welsh rugby’s star culture, accusing Welsh players of living in a cocoon.

The new national coach has pulled no punches in a brutal assessment of Welsh rugby’s parochialism.

He also believes Welsh players are pampered, over-hyped and over-paid, likening his new home’s insular attitude to that of his native New Zealand.

And Gatland also slammed the hype surrounding Welsh rugby’s latest wunderkid, James Hook.

Arguing that players in Wales are put on a pedestal too soon, without achieving anything, he points to Hook’s glaring penalty miss in the defeat to Fiji, which ended the World Cup campaign.

“It’s hard here because you are a superstar and in a cocoon,” said Gatland. “You are put on a pedestal; but you have to remind yourself to keep your feet on the ground.

“People are talking about James Hook being a superstar, well, you have to say: ‘James, remember the kick you missed against Fiji in the World Cup which cost us a quarter-final spot’.

“We have to be level-headed about stuff like that.”

Gatland’s latest remarks will touch a nerve with his Wales squad. He has already proved he is not afraid to publicly criticise his players since he took charge.

And while he believes that Welsh players are more talented and skilful than English and Irish players and are on a par with anything he has seen in New Zealand, he has admitted Welsh players lack mental toughness and an uncompromising winning mentality.

Gatland even believes Welsh players are over-paid.

It’s hard to argue with his opinion when you think that the Ospreys signed Mike Phillips from the Blues on a £180,000-a-year deal in the summer.

But for a coach banking in the region of £350,000-a-year claiming players are being overpaid is a bit, to say the least, rich.

But Gatland clearly believes Welsh players have trouble dealing with all the attention.

“These players, on average, get paid more than English players,” said Gatland.

“That will surprise people. They are very highly paid and put on a pedestal and made to feel special and we have to keep them grounded.

“We have to keep reminding them about working hard and working harder than other countries.”

Gatland’s mantra about hard work, sacrifice and humility is aimed directly at professional players in Wales, but could easily be a broadside at a self-obsessed rugby culture.

He is clearly astonished at how insular the Welsh rugby culture has become.

“We have to be aware of what people think of us and are saying about us,” said Gatland.

The New Zealander also warned that Welsh players don’t have a great reputation out in the rugby world.

“If we have players selected to go on tour with the Lions next year, I don’t know if they are aware of what people think about them,” said Gatland.

“I don’t know if they are aware of what the other countries think about Welsh players.

“Do they know what they think about them as tourists? Or what they think about your reaction when you don’t get selected?

“You have to be aware of that and then you can change those habits.”

Gatland, though, doesn’t believe Wales is the only country too parochial about rugby.

He points to New Zealand, another country where the oval ball is the national game, suffering from the same inflated idea of itself.

“New Zealand is very similar,” said Gatland. “Like Scott Johnson (former Wales skills coach) said, we are just a couple of poxy islands in the Pacific. New Zealanders who haven’t travelled think we make a difference in the world.

“We don’t make a squat of difference. Our views politically aren’t important; nobody takes notice of us.”

Gatland believes that self-obsessed culture pervades right through to his beloved All Blacks.

“It’s a real negative about New Zealand and the All Blacks,” said Gatland. “You have to do your homework on the opposition teams. Give the players feedback on other competitions.

“I think they don’t do that enough and they aren’t aware of what else is going on around the world.

“When you have been away for a while you can put all of that in context.”

Once again, it’s hard to argue with him.

The All Blacks’ failure in the 2007 World Cup, after being the number one ranked side for the previous three years, is proof of that.

But Gatland, apart from two years coaching in New Zealand with Waikato, has spent most of his coaching career in Europe.

He coached in Ireland for six years, before an astonishingly successful three-year spell with London Wasps.

Now he has signed a four-year contract with Wales up until the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

So, Gatland cannot be accused of being parochial or not having a world view of rugby.

“You have to look at the bigger picture,” said Gatland.

“That is something I am very aware of.”

He is also aware and comfortable that he will be judged on his results as Wales coach.

“I am still a young coach, although I have a lot of experience, and I do believe in ‘what will be, will be’.

“If things don’t work out, you move on, but it has never been in my make-up not to make something work.”

And just who is going to argue with him?