Gatland: Future Lions won’t have any inferiority complex

Series-winning Lions coach Warren Gatland believes those players who achieved victory over Australia will go to New Zealand in four years with no inferiority complex about facing the All Blacks.

The 2-1 victory over the Wallabies, sealed on Saturday with a 41-16 win in front of a record ANZ Stadium crowd of 83,702, has given new life to the Lions brand after three consecutive series defeats in 2001, ’05 and ’09. And the young profile of Gatland’s squad, led by 24-year-old captain Sam Warburton, means the potential is there for the majority of the battle-hardened 2013 tourists to remain intact for the toughest assignment of all against the All Blacks in 2017.

Warburton, who missed the final Test with a hamstring tear, said people who thought the Lions had no chance in New Zealand were “talking rubbish” and that spirit was embraced by Gatland when the Kiwi was asked if he believed New Zealand could be beaten in 2017.

“If we get things right, yeah, in terms of the preparation,” Gatland said. “If you look at how young this squad is, a lot of them could be around in four years.

“If they’re playing well enough and you’ve got four more years’ experience on some young heads, and they’re in their late 20s, that potentially makes the Lions squad in four years’ time incredibly strong.”

Gatland and Lions team manager Andy Irvine both want a longer break between the end of the domestic season and the start of the Test series, although it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

“I passionately believe in this, that the scheduling is all wrong,” Irvine said. ‘We as a board did our damnedest to give Warren more time. It is bonkers that you have a Rabo final and an Aviva final 48 hours before you fly out.

“I’m not even sure if we can change it in four years’ time, but thereafter, once the SANZAR agreement comes up for negotiation (after the 2017 tour), make no mistake, our boys will get more time with the players — they have to, because it is unfair on the coaches and the players. There is a legally-binding contract in place. Unless both parties agree to changing that contract, you can’t break it. We’re powerless to break it, unless we have the agreement of the New Zealand Rugby Union, or alternatively, the clubs back home. You try to persuade the Premiership clubs to move their final, or try to persuade ERC to move their final. If you can do it, you are a better man than me. It’s really important we try and work together to get better scheduling.”

Whether Gatland will be around to coach the Lions a second time will not be considered until the end of the 2015 World Cup, when is current contract with Wales expires. “After that, after 2015 I will think about my future,” he said. “I may just hang up the boots and go to the beach, sit down with a glass of red wine and a cigar.”