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Warren Gatland has claimed he did not pursue the possibility of replacing All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen due to his desire to fulfil commitments to the Waikato Chiefs and British and Irish Lions .
Gatland left his post as Wales coach after guiding them to the World Cup semi-finals and was initially on New Zealand ’s list of 26 homegrown candidates to succeed Hansen.
But Gatland would not be swayed, instead sticking to his original plan post-Wales to take over at the Chiefs next year.
The four-year deal with the Super Rugby side means the New Zealander still be able to lead the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021, taking a year away from the club game.
“It was nice to be contacted (but) I politely declined putting my name forward,” Gatland told New Zealand’s Radio Sport Breakfast podcast.
Show all 24 1 /24Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament Rugby World Cup Team of the Toournament Siya Kolisi's South Africa clinched the nation's third Rugby World Cup triumph by defeating England in the final, but who makes the Team of the Tournament?
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 15. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand) Japan 2019 wasn’t exactly a great tournament for full-backs, but Barrett continued to ooze class despite the shift from fly-half even when the going got tough for the All Blacks. It’s been quickly forgotten how dangerous he was against the Springboks way back on the opening weekend of the tournament, and took that form into the quarter-final rout of Ireland.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 14. Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) One of the stars of the World Cup that brought overwhelming joy to the Japanese public with his five tries in the pool stage. The wing showed you don’t have to be the biggest to be the strongest as he blended a combination of strength and agility to leave defenders in his wake, with his try against Scotland set to live long in the memory.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 13. Manu Tuilagi (England) Set the tone for England’s brutality with a double against Tonga and also brought fierce defence to England’s 13 channel. Got himself on the scoresheet once again against the All Blacks in that phenomenal semi-final display, but the final proved one match too far for him.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 12. Damian de Allende (South Africa) Slipped under the radar somewhat heading into the World Cup due to South Africa’s powerhouse pack but De Allende was a key factor in getting the Boks to the final, scoring a try against Wales that demonstrated supreme balance a and power. Four years ago he was marked out as one of the stars of the future, this year he delivered.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 11. Semi Radradra (Fiji) Who can forget how Radradra took Wales to the cleaners as a one-man wrecking ball, are barrelled his way through Australia’s Reece Hodge not once but twice? Radradra put his name among the very best players in the world as Fiji left a mighty impression on the World Cup, and the only hope is that we come to see Radradra on the international stage more often over the next four years.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 10. Handre Pollard (South Africa) Bumps George Ford out of the side after playing an instrumental role in getting the Springboks to the final and then inspiring them past an off-colour England side with a magnificent display. His 22-point haul in the final fell just short of Matt Burke’s 1999 record of 25.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 9. Faf de Klerk (South Africa) His tactical awareness and craft at the breakdown caused big problems for Wales and England at the business end of the season, while his livewire approach to the attack kept the defence fixed to open up space for his teammates. On top of that, there is no better tactical-kicking scrum-half at this World Cup.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 1. Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa) Storms his way into the side with one of the great loosehead displays of the 21st Century. ‘Beast’ scrummaged Dan Cole into the ground, winning penalty after penalty for Pollard to convert into points, and despite being 34 years old he proved he remains a formidable tackler.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 2. Shota Horie (Japan) Part of why Japan were so good to watch was the fact that their forwards were able to play an expansive passing game, and Horie led that by example. The wild-haired hooker stands out for obvious reasons, but it was his rugby that did the talking as he starred against Ireland and Scotland.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 3. Kyle Sinckler (England) A man who should be immensely proud with what he has achieved in Japan, with there being nothing he could do about the concussive blow in the third minute of the World Cup final that ended his tournament prematurely. Sinckler enjoyed a breakout performance against Australia in the quarter-finals, and the sight of him beaming after scoring his first international try will remain long in the memory.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 4. Maro Itoje (England) Took the World Cup by storm to the point that every international team would want him on their side. Led by example, even when the going got tough as he remained one of England’s best performers when South Africa pulled away, and while there will be obvious disappointment, the lock should be very proud of what he achieved in Japan.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 5. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) Makes the squad thanks to his phenomenal defensive effort throughout the World Cup. His incredible 79 tackles across seven games proved eight more than any other player at the tournament, which for a lock takes some doing, and Wales’s failure to reach the final was by no means down to the skipper.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 6. Tom Curry (England) Announced himself as a player to watch for the next decade with a string of standout displays in the No 6 shirt, having made the transition from openside flanker look a piece of cake. At 21 years old, Curry has the world before him.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa) Silenced the doubts with inspiring performances in South Africa’s final two games, disrupting the opposition ball and not allowing them to play at the pace they would have preferred. Played a nice role in Cheslin Kolbe’s World Cup-sealing try by sending the winger on his way.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 8. Duane Vermeulen (South Africa) It must be nigh-on impossible for an average human to stop the No 8 giving nothing about him is average. Vermuelen won the battle against Billy Vunipola – again, and he deserves his World Cup winners’ pedal more than most.
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament <b>Replacements:</b> 16. Jamie George (England)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 17. Joe Moody (New Zealand)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 18. Frans Malherbe (South Africa)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 19. Lood de Jager (South Africa)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 20. Sam Underhill (England)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 21. Yutaka Nagare (Japan)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 22. George Ford (England)
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Rugby World Cup 2019 team of the tournament 23. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
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“I’m a little bit old school... I’d made the commitment to the Chiefs and I’d made the commitment to the Lions.
“It was important that I carry on with that... honour the commitment I made to those two sides.
“Maybe sometime in the future I may get that opportunity again.”
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