British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland on the 2009 tour

Gatland: I learned from 2009 to start fast

WARREN Gatland has challenged his Lions squad to consign the mistakes of 2009 to history and land a knockout blow on the Boks in the first two Tests of the series this summer.
Gatland was Sir Ian McGeechan’s assistant on the trip to South Africa 12 years ago when the Lions managed only a consolation 28-9 win in the third Test at Ellis Park.
The series had gone by then following defeats in Durban and Pretoria after the Lions had been lulled into a false sense of security by a run of wins against weakened provincial opponents.
They were caught cold 26-21 in the first Test as the Boks raced t...

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