British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland uses second Test victory to hit back at critics for 'personal attacks'
The Lions head coach believes the repeated attacks in the New Zealand media galvanised his side and he insisted after beating the All Blacks that it is not working
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Your support makes all the difference.Warren Gatland took plenty of personal joy from the British and Irish Lions’ first victory over the All Blacks since 1993 as he hit back at his critics, adding that the personal campaign against him spurred the players on to what could prove to be a historic victory.
The Lions inflicted New Zealand’s first defeat at home in eight years to end their 38-Test unbeaten streak on their own soil with a 24-21 victory at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, a result that leaves the three-Test series finely poised at one win apiece heading into next weekend’s final match.
For Gatland, the victory is a first ever win over New Zealand, but it is also an answer to the endless media campaign that he has had to endure since returning to his homeland five weeks ago. Gatland was accused of cracking under pressure in the first week of the tour and was also, for the second time, mocked up as a clown on the front page of a local newspaper.
But after seeing his side secure a last-gasp victory over 14-man New Zealand - due to Sonny Bill Williams’ red card in the 25th minute - Gatland used his post-match press conference to hit back at his critics.
“The last couple of weeks in terms of the criticism and personal attacks has been a little bit tough to take, not so much for myself, more for family members,” Gatland said.
Whoever’s been doing it, keep doing it because it’s not working
“Ironically, the Kiwi public are probably the fairest people you will ever come across. They have no idea how much it has galvanised us a group in terms of the good luck messages we have received from Kiwis, people shaking your hands and saying ‘well done’, ex-All Blacks contacting us saying ‘I hope you do well’ and that some of the personal stuff in the press has been over the top.
“There is a huge proportion of Lions fans and Kiwis wanting us to do well and saying the criticism has been unfair.
“So ironically, it’s actually been a huge positive, so whoever’s been doing it, keep doing it because it’s not working and it’s actually worked for us.”
The game changed when Williams was sent-off by referee Jerome Garces for a shoulder charge to the head of Anthony Watson, with television replays not helping the All Blacks’ centres case as Garces consulted his TMO George Ayoub.
Gatland was fully aware of how significant the loss of the powerful centre was in terms of the result, but he insisted the decision lay with Garces and that it was the player’s fault for putting himself in a position where the referee felt he had no over option than to show a red card.
“It’s just one of those things. He led with his shoulder and the referee felt he had no choice,” added Gatland. “He has made the decision. It was a significant loss for All Blacks in terms of that he’s a key person and we are aware of that.”
Gatland decided that after the 30-15 first Test defeat, changes were necessary to get the Lions back into the series. They worked, with both Maro Itoje and Sam Warburton having the desired effect in bringing a physical edge back to the Lions’ game, but it was also the retention of Alun Wyn Jones that proved a key factor in the fate of the match as the lock put in a strong performance after his struggles in Auckland.
“I don’t think there was a massive shake-up,” Gatland said of his selection. “We felt we created opportunities in the first Test and we just weren’t putting the ball through our hands. We made a couple of changes and we did that tonight.
“I thought our loose forwards were excellent and the guys that came off the bench did a good job. It was just a tweaking and picking a side that we thought could do a job tonight. We nearly got caught, but we were good enough to come out of that.”
The head coach will join his side in heading south to the ski resort of Queenstown where they will prepare for their third Test decider and reflect on what went right and wrong in this victory, though Gatland was able to let his hair down somewhat as he joked at a few extra activities.
“We will see what happens over the next few days, we will have a couple of days off” he said. “We are off to Queenstown for a bit of skiing and some recreation stuff...that was a joke!
“We will have a couple of days off to recover and then start thinking about the final Test in Auckland. I think it’s going to be pretty brutal next weekend.”
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