By Gavin Mairs
Warren Gatland is in engaging form. Over the course of the next two hours, he talks passionately about a range of issues, from his decision to return as Wales head coach to his goal of bringing a sense of joy back to Test rugby.
Yet the most insightful and revealing moment seems to take us both by surprise.
Gatland is reflecting on his vision for his second term with Wales and the core values of his coaching philosophy when his mind suddenly takes him to a very different place: the day almost 31 years ago when his world was turned upside down by a tragedy that he reveals would define his career.
The day in question was January 17, 1992 – a day that was meant to be filled with unbridled joy.
At the time Gatland was just 28, but his coaching career had already begun, as player/coach with Irish side Galwegians. His wife Trudi, who was expecting their first child, had been admitted to University Hospital Galway to give birth.
“I still remember it was a misty old morning when we drove to the hospital the previous day,” Gatland says. “The pregnancy had gone smoothly. We had some scans but obviously they weren’t [as] detailed as they are now. We were so excited. I was really looking forward to fatherhood.
Warren Gatland is back for a second stint as Wales head coach.Credit:Getty
“When our daughter Shauna arrived, she was a good weight, around seven-and-a-half pounds, and all seemed well. But minutes later I remember looking across to see that one of the nurses was crying and suddenly specialists were rushing in. I didn’t understand what was happening.”
The reason for the nurse’s tears was that baby Shauna had been born with spina bifida, which is when a baby’s spinal cord does not develop properly in the womb. A scan later confirmed her condition was so severe that, after consulting with the hospital’s professor of paediatrics, the couple made the gut-wrenching decision not to proceed with surgical intervention. “We were beyond grief,” Gatland says.
What happened next would leave an indelible mark, not just on his life but his career, an emotional legacy that would underpin his coaching mindset — an impact he only recently became aware of as he contemplated his return to international coaching.
“I have never shared this story with anyone before,” he says. “I have spoken on a number of occasions about Shauna, but it is only recently that I have come to realise the impact of what happened in the days after her birth had on my life and me as a coach.”
Gatland coached the Lions to a series victory in Australia a decade ago but won’t be at the helm for their return in 2025.Credit:Getty
Galwegians had made a major financial investment in bringing Gatland from New Zealand in 1989 as part of their push for promotion to the All Ireland League.
“We had lost in the last minute the year before to a drop goal to get promoted, but when Shauna was born the club told me I should go back home to New Zealand, despite the fact that as Connacht champions we had promotion play-offs coming up involving games against the other three provincial league winners.
“I said that the game was huge and that they had invested a lot of money in me, but the message from the club was, ‘Your family is more important’ and that I should take them back to Hamilton.
“After a while I phoned the club to thank them for allowing me to bring Trudi and Shauna back home, where we had the support of our extended family.
‘It is important not to forget what the most important thing is, and the most important thing is your family.’
“I told them that things were settled here and asked if they wanted me to come back to play in the play-offs. The club said, ‘Would you do that?’ and I said yes because I wanted to pay them back for their sympathy and understanding.
“In my moment of need, the club showed what they were prepared to do for me, not worrying about promotion or money. It was about values and the importance of family. They could have asked me to stay to play in the play-offs, but there was no question to them what was more important. So when I got back home, I realised I wanted to come back and give something back to them to say thank you.
“So I flew back to Ireland and we drew the first game and then won the second game, which secured our promotion, and then flew back to New Zealand because the third game was meaningless.”
Gatland has never forgotten the compassion the club showed in allowing him to spend precious moments with his wider family back in Hamilton, and says they treasured four months together, full of love and tenderness with Shauna, before she died on May 13.
Gatland’s immediate priority is the Six Nations next month after a dismal 2022 campaign for Wales.Credit:PA
“The family were brilliant, especially Trudi’s mum and dad. We were told that there was a good chance, with the size of the lesion on Shauna’s back, that if she got an infection it would go to her brain and probably kill her, but Trudi was just amazing and before [Shauna] passed away it had healed over.
“Shauna was so special and if it hadn’t been for her we probably wouldn’t have had our second daughter, Gabby — who arrived 16 months later — as early as we did, and then our son Bryn as well. They are a result of her, in an ironic way.
“When she passed away I asked for special permission to have her coffin laid to rest on top of the coffin of my late grandmother, who is buried in the Newstead Cemetery in Hamilton. I had been particularly close to her and in the eulogy to Shauna, we said she was safe in the arms of her great grandmother. Shauna would be 30 now, I still think of her often.”
Gatland recognises now it was the compassion shown by Galwegians that became the “driving force” behind his glittering coaching career, and explains why he has always placed a focus on the importance of family in the squads he has coached since.
“I have always had some core values such as work ethic and what it means to put the jersey on. But family is really important, too. If you get things right off the pitch with partners and families at home, then you always get more from a player. I don’t think people realise the impact it can have on a team when you get the environment right. We are all lucky to be involved in professional sport, but it is important not to forget what the most important thing is, and the most important thing is your family.”
It was missing that sense of family he had created during his previous 12-year tenure with Wales, winning four Six Nations titles including three grand slams, and twice reaching the World Cup semi-finals, that was one of the factors in his decision to return, despite interest from other international teams and a club in Japan.
Gatland hopes that bringing together all the stakeholders in Welsh rugby to thrash out a way forward can save the regional game. He also acknowledges a responsibility to bring a smile back to the nation’s faces in these tough economic times.
Few Welsh supporters were smiling after a gloomy autumn on the pitch that led to the sacking of Wayne Pivac. But Gatland holds dear the special memories of Shauna, he believes that, with a sense of family togetherness, anything is possible.
Telegraph, London
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