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'The Brave and the Bald': Social media flooded with comments on the lack of hair amongst Gatland's Lions coaching staff

(Photo by INPHO/Dan Sheridan via Lions)

Tuesday’s much-anticipated announcement by Warren Gatland of his British and Irish Lions coaching team was met by an unusual response. There was inevitably going to be plenty of interest in who did and did not make the staff, but one thing that was not on the agenda beforehand became the biggest talking point by far online – the lack of hair in Gatland’s coaching team. 

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Gatland’s staff for this year’s tour of South Africa includes Scotland team duo Gregor Townsend and Steve Tandy, who will respectively serve as the Lions attack coach and defence coaches. 

The staff is completed by Neil Jenkins and Robin McBryde, who both worked with Gatland during his time in charge of Wales. Current Wales skills coach Jenkins joins the staff as kicking coach, the role he had on the previous Lions tour, and Leinster assistant coach McBryde joins as forwards coach. 

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Wales out-half and Lions selection contender Dan Biggar guests on RugbyPass All Access

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Wales out-half and Lions selection contender Dan Biggar guests on RugbyPass All Access

With each coach’s mugshot laid next to one another online, it was hard not to notice the trait that unites Tuesday’s four additions. In fact, Gatland’s usual buzz cut now looks like long flowing locks when pictured alongside the rest of his coaching staff, as he was by far and away the most hirsute member of the team. 

Social media was flooded with comments about the make-up of the Lions coaching team assembled by Gatland. These ranged from the tour being named “The Brave and the Bald” to suggestions that the Lions will not need to spend on shampoo or barbers this year. There has not been a shortage of photos of eggs either. 

Of course, there were serious responses to this team, with some questioning how France defence coach and long-time Gatland colleague Shaun Edwards or Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster did not make the coaching team. The pair would have been very well suited to this coaching team based on their rugby credentials alone, but their smooth heads would have also clearly met one of Gatland’s other main requirements. 

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https://twitter.com/BarryHurford/status/1381914070555713536?s=20

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J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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