With the 2023 Rugby World Cup in the books as South Africa claimed back to back titles, the rugby world now looks ahead to the next four year cycle. With the URC, Premiership and Top 14 all back in full swing with the international stars slowly being drip fed back in to their clubs, it is an interesting time for rugby fans to see what young talent may emerge in the run up to Australia's World Cup in 2027.
Warren Gatland's Lions XV
There is the Champions Cup, Six Nations, the formation of a new Nations Championship in 2026, as well as talk of the formation of a potential 'British and Irish Super League' and the 2025 Lions Tour in Australia. There is plenty of events to look forward to for rugby fans but Warren Gatland coaching the Lions once again isn't one of them. Gatland declared in the week, he would not be returning for a fifth tour. In doing so he gave a glowing recommendation for Andy Farrell to lead the Lions in 2025 and named his match day 23 of the best players he coached in his four tours.
As expected, there's no place for Brian O'Driscoll in Gat's starting XV.
Gatland described the blindside flanker position as the hardest selection he had to make, selecting Tom Croft for his performances in 2009. He gave mention to Ireland's Grand Slam winning number 6 that year, Stephen Ferris. He wrote in the Telegraph:
This was the hardest selection, given the quality of player I worked with here. I still wonder what a player Stephen Ferris could have been for us if he had not picked up a knee injury on the 2009 tour. I am also a big fan of Courtney Lawes. But Tom (Croft) at his best was an incredible athlete, quick and explosive and a brilliant line-out operator. Not originally selected in 2009 but forced his way into the Test side, scoring twice against the Springboks in the first Test. We didn’t see the best of him in 2013 because of injury.
SEE ALSO: Ronan O'Gara Wants Role In Lions Coaching Dream Ticket
Stephen Ferris on Gatland
Speaking with Stephen Ferris on The Build-up this week when asked about Gatland's comments he said;
I think that's the first time Gats has ever mentioned me publicly in the media. I think ever, so yes that's obviously nice to hear. I was playing very well on that tour and had a couple of really good games. The game where (Wayne) Barnes gave me a yellow card against the Cheetahs, I actually got man of the match weirdly enough.
I played well and then was supposed to get game time against the Sharks, which was the following week but you know obviously picked up that knee injury.
"What a prick!"
Ferris went on to speak highly of Gatland's coaching and man-management style but said he didn't always appreciate it at the time:
He was a great coach. He was a very good delegator, very good man manager and got the best out of people by again not having to say too much. I have maybe mentioned this before about me injuring myself and him coming up to me when I was on the physio table.
My tour was over and he put his hand on my leg and he goes, "you'll learn from this," and just walked off. I was like "what a prick!"
You know why would you say that to someone whose tour is over? He's depressed. He's literally packing his bags.
The Ulsterman went on to state that upon reflection he began to understand that there was a lesson to be learned from how he had sustained the injury;
I sort of thought a bit deeper in to what he actually meant and it was like, you know, about the week's training leading up to important matches and maybe like holding yourself back a little bit and being a bit smarter, a bit cuter about the way you train about the way you manage yourself.
Unfortunately, I just played 100 miles an hour every single game, every single minute and training, I suppose with experience I did taper off a little bit.
Ferris went on to state his admiration for Croft and his performances on that extremely attritional tour in 2009:
Some of the things that he said to me on that tour, I needed to think about a little bit more deeply. He put Tom Croft in who actually had come in as a replacement for Alan Quinlan after he got banned for eye gouging Leo Cullen.
Tom Croft, what an athlete, what an athlete. Honestly, that guy could cover the ground. He was as fast as any winger. When he scored two tries in the first test in Durban, when they went down, I'm not sure I'd have got on the end of those two if I had of started that game.
So yeah, fair play to Crofty and fair play to Gats for giving me a shout.
