A chara, - The popular outrage at Warren Gatland's dismissal is misplaced and way over the top.
Your own Gerry Thornley portrays Mr Gatland as a splendid coach unreasonably shafted, but let us put his tenure in context. He took over from Brian Ashton, under whose coaching we suffered a succession of record defeats. He could not fail to look good.
Of course we regained pride and began to win half our games, but each season has been spoiled by at least one horrendous, unwarranted (but not unWarrented) disaster: the debacle at Lens; the bloodbath at Twickenham; the loss to Wales; the two muggings by Scotland.
As for this "most successful season ever", with its four wins, let's recap (not forgetting the superstars at our disposal and the fact that Wales and Scotland have never been so headless).
We beat Italy (without disrespect, big deal). We beat France (by a try that wasn't). We beat Wales (see above). And, blunder of all blunders, with a Six Nations grand slam in tantalising reach, we bungled our teamsheet and our game-plan for Murrayfield. (And please, Mr Thornley, spare us the worn-out, defeatist argument that if we'd beaten Scotland we couldn't have beaten England - as if Wood, O'Driscoll, Galwey & Co need to lose every second game in order to get their dander up to win the next one.)
I am not qualified to supply character references for the IRFU blazers whom Gerry Thornley execrates; nor do I deny Warren Gatland was our most match-winning coach of recent times. But if we credit Gatland with the successes, we must allow him the failures. And the fact is his tenure was punctuated by a fatal tendency to drop the proverbial ball with the try-line beckoning.
All in all - and with two proven geniuses waiting to take over - replacing him was entirely logical, even unaviodable. - Is mise,
Risteard ╙ Gallchobhair, Plβs Ullington, Baile ┴tha Cliath 4