Warren Gatland exclusive interview: Why the Lions tour should actually be kicking off this weekend

Warren Gatland is not the sentimental type, but even for the man who has seen it all in world rugby, there are some bonds that cannot be broken. 

As he enters his office at his home in Hamilton in New Zealand, it is striking that he is wearing a grey and white hoodie, discreetly embroidered with the emblem of the British and Irish Lions, the team he coached with such distinction on four separate tours.

“This is my walking jersey,” he chuckles, having just returned from an evening stroll. “I don’t tend to keep a lot of rugby memorabilia. It is one of the few things I have kept from the tour of South Africa last year. I have given most of the Lions stuff away, including my blazer to a guy who collects these things.”

Gatland may have parted with most of his ‘stash’ since then, yet the fact that he is still wearing his Lions hoodie is not without significance. It is exactly a year since he and his Lions squad were in Johannesburg preparing for their opening tour match against the Golden Lions at Ellis Park but, had Gatland been listened to, there is every chance they would be preparing to play the first Test this weekend. 

The former Wales head coach has not spoken publicly about the tour since the 19-16 defeat by the Springboks in the third Test in Cape Town that clinched a 2-1 series victory for the hosts last August because of his desire to protect the reputation of the Lions by not getting embroiled in a “tit for tat” spat over the controversy that mired the climax of the series. It would culminate in Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks’ director of rugby, being found guilty of six charges of misconduct for his video rant at referee Nic Berry over his officiating in the Springboks' defeat in the first Test.

But Gatland,