Rugby: 'Never say never' - Warren Gatland refuses to rule out leading Lions one more time

Warren Gatland has not ruled out leading a third Lions tour against South Africa in 2021. Photo / Greg Bowker

Warren Gatland has not ruled out taking charge of the British and Irish Lions for a third time, two weeks after saying he would never do the job again.

Gatland, who led the Lions to glory in Australia in 2013 and a draw against the All Blacks last summer, was hurt by the media abuse he took in New Zealand and criticism from his own flanker, Sean O'Brien.

But having said that he wouldn't subject himself to that again, the Wales head coach, speaking exclusively to Sportsmail, admitted: "My experience of a Lions tour is that there is no pressure on the players.

"You go out there and fail as a player and you have got the luxury of sauntering back to your club or your national team or whatever.

"But if you fail as part of a coaching set-up, the finger is pointed at you. That is what makes it so challenging and so tough. Yeah, it's exciting.

"Yeah, it's a hard job to turn down and walk away from. I made those comments about not wanting to do it again because I was pretty hurt.

"There is a cynical part of me that thinks let someone else go and do it and when he fails people might say 'Oh, actually, it's a little bit harder than I thought it was'.

"As far as me coaching the Lions again, never say never. There is a lot of water under the bridge. The way I was feeling when I said what I said.

"The biggest thing for me is that other players have been positive in their comments. There are a lot of people who disagree with what Sean said."

The next Lions tour is to South Africa in 2021.