Warren Gatland has opened up for the first time on how the tragic death of his four-month old daughter drove him to succeed as an elite rugby coach.
Gatland's first daughter, Shauna, was born in a Galway hospital - when the Wales coach was 28 - in January 1992. The New Zealander was player/coach for Irish club side Galwegians at the time his wife Trudi was admitted to the hospital to give birth.
And in a candid interview with the Telegraph, Gatland has now spoken out on how the heartbreaking events of Shauna's death shaped his coaching philosophy and life outside of rugby.
Gatland recalled that there were initially no health concerns following a smooth pregnancy, before he soon realised something was seriously wrong after the birth.
"I still remember it was a misty old morning when we drove to the hospital the previous day," he said. "The pregnancy had gone smoothly; we had some scans but obviously they weren’t as detailed as they are now. We were so excited. I was really looking forward to fatherhood.
“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.”
Shauna had been born with spina bifida, a condition where a baby's spinal cord does not develop properly in the womb, which causes a gap in the spine. And her condition was so severe that the decision was made not to proceed with any surgical intervention.
She died in May of the same year and Gatland revealed in his 2019 autobiography that the meeting with medics was "the hardest, most gut-wrenching conversation of my life."
The 59-year-old has now explained how the compassion showed by his side Galwegians in allowing him to miss crucial matches and head home to New Zealand after the birth has left a lasting impact on him as he prioritises building the right culture in his coaching career.
"We were beyond grief," he continued. “I said that the game [a promotion play-off] 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.
“After a while I phoned the club to thank them for allowing me to bring Trudi and Shauna back home where we had the support of our extended family.
“I have always had some core values such as work ethic and what it means to put the jersey on. But family is really important too. If you get things right off the pitch with partners and families at home then you always get more from a player. I don’t think people realise the impact it can have on a team when you get the environment right."
Gatland - recently appointed Wales boss for the second time - has two other children, Gabby and Bryn. He also became a grandfather for the first time in 2021 as Gabby named her own daughter Sia Shauna Stone.
