Warren Gatland has revealed how the death of his baby daughter shaped his life, coaching philosophy and emphasis on family.
Gatland's first daughter, Shauna, passed away at just four-months-old nearly 31 years ago after being born with spina bifida. The Wales coach has previously spoken about the tragedy but has now opened up to the Telegraph on the impact it has had on his career. You can read what he wrote in his autobiography here.
At the time he was playing for Irish club side Galwegians when wife Trudi was admitted to hospital to give birth in January, 1992. The pregnancy had gone well and scans had not suggested there were any health issues to be concerned about
Gatland said: “When our daughter Shauna arrived, she was a good weight, around seven-and-a-half pounds, and all seemed well. But minutes later I remember looking across to see that one of the nurses was crying and suddenly specialists were rushing in. I didn’t understand what was happening.”
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Shauna's condition was so severe the decision was taken with doctors not to perform any surgical intervention. That meeting with medics is one Gatland described in his autobiography as "the hardest, most gut-wrenching conversation of my life". Shauna died four months later in May.
Gatland recalls how the support and compassion from Galwegians, who told him to head home to New Zealand immediately after the birth to be with his wider family despite huge play-off games on the horizon, has always stayed with him. He would later return to Ireland to play some part in the team's decisive fixtures
“I said that the game was huge and that they had invested a lot of money in me but the message from the club was ‘your family is more important’ and that I should take them back to Hamilton," he said.
“In my moment of need, the club showed what they were prepared to do for me, not worrying about promotion or money. It was about values and the importance of family."
From that moment, the Wales coach has always told his players to put their families before rugby, insisting it is vital to creating the right environment for a team and individuals to thrive.
"It is only recently that I have come to realise the impact of what happened in the days after her birth had on my life and me as a coach," he said.
"We are all lucky to be involved in professional sport but it is important not to forget what the most important thing is, and the most important thing is your family.”
Shauna would have been 30 now and Gatland says he still thinks of her often. He has two other children, Gabby and Bryn, who plays rugby for the Chiefs in New Zealand. Gatland became a grandfather for the first time in 2021, with Gabby naming her daughter Sia Shauna Stone.
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