{"id":297739,"date":"2023-10-31T15:25:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T15:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=297739"},"modified":"2023-10-31T15:25:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T15:25:05","slug":"warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing<\/h3>\n

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news<\/h3>\n

Thanks for signing up to the
Sport email<\/h2>\n

Warren Gatland has backed Andy Farrell to be the next British and Irish Lions head coach after ruling himself out of the running for the 2025 tour of Australia.<\/p>\n

New Zealander Gatland, who late last year returned for a second spell as Wales boss, has overseen the last three Lions tours.<\/p>\n

Farrell was on Sunday named World Rugby coach of the year\u00a0after leading Ireland to a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam amid a 17-match winning run.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks ago, I was asked by Nigel Walker, Wales\u2019 director of rugby, if I was interested in putting my name forward to be head coach for the next tour in Australia in 2025,\u201d Gatland wrote in his column for the Telegraph.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did not take long to get back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him I was not going to put my name forward. I told Nigel that I would have no problem if any of my support staff were to be asked to be involved as I would see it as a great experience for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it is the opportunity now for someone else to be head coach and Andy Farrell would have my backing for the job.<\/p>\n

If the next head coach wants to tap into my experiences from the last four tours, then I would still love to be involved in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot deny what Ireland have achieved as a nation over the last few years. There is no doubt that Andy has done a fantastic job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gatland led the Lions to a 2-1 win in Australia in 2013, a drawn series in New Zealand in 2017 and a 2-1 defeat in South Africa in 2021.<\/p>\n

Farrell was part of the 60-year-old\u2019s coaching staff for the first two of those three tours.<\/p>\n

The 48-year-old Englishman\u2019s stock has risen significantly over the past couple of years, albeit Ireland suffered a quarter-final exit at the Rugby World Cup in France following a 28-24 defeat to runners-up New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Gatland, who also assisted Sir Ian McGeechan on the 2009 Lions tour of South Africa, offered to support his successor in an advisory capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the next head coach wants to tap into my experiences from the last four tours, then I would still love to be involved in some way by passing on the knowledge and experience I have gained in trying to create harmony within a group of players from different backgrounds,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Lions, it is the least I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297738,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWarren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Warren-Gatland-backs-Andy-Farrell-to-be-next-British-and-Irish-Lions-head-coach.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/\",\"name\":\"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby Union\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-union\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstons\",\"description\":\"sportstons.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Dennis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dennis\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons","og_description":"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/","og_site_name":"Sportstons","article_published_time":"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00","author":"Dennis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Warren-Gatland-backs-Andy-Farrell-to-be-next-British-and-Irish-Lions-head-coach.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dennis","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/","name":"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach - Sportstons","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-31T15:25:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-backs-andy-farrell-to-be-next-british-and-irish-lions-head-coach\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby Union","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-union\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Warren Gatland backs Andy Farrell to be next British and Irish Lions head coach"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/","name":"Sportstons","description":"sportstons.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Dennis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dennis"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}