Gatland's career is a rugby nerd's heaven to analyse. Pretty simplified below but here's my view on it.
The Ireland years were so impressive. He was the first coach in the country that realised fitness and discipline were rather important in the game as well as a close look regarding tactics and and he took Galwegians to the All Ireland League, Connacht from perennial whipping boys to the knockouts of challenge cup rugby and got through a 6n with Ireland with only one loss in 01 which was the best performance since the 1985 championship / triple crown, he also ended long droughts against Scotland, England, France and Australia. He was usurped by Eddie O'Sullivan who realistically was nothing more than a highly competent backs coach, huge mistake by the IRFU.
Wasps was his first go at using his tactics in a truly professional set up and his record there speaks for itself, dominating England and adding a Heineken and challenge cup to his tally.
With Wales, he was the first international coach that realised mixing size across the pitch with great game managers and one or two gamebreakers would go very far in international rugby and they were often a top three team. It really took until 2014 with the arrival of Schmidt and Lancaster for other European teams to catch up. He struggled against SA because his way was their DNA and against NZ who were doing exactly what he did, although rather deceptively because they were also lightyears agead in terms of deception and playing to space.
Once Schmidt and Lancaster brought that bit extra to England and Ireland he struggled a bit more, going 5 years without a championship. By 2019, I don't think he really improved his attacking structures but realised a team could get meaner on defence and use that as their first form of attack and another slam and world cup semi final followed, interestingly with quite a poor try scoring rate for the time (tied last with Italy in tries scored in 2019 which is an anomaly). I think the relative lack of attacking output was evident in both Lions tours in 17 and 21 also. Staying loyal to Howley absolutely exacerbated this.
I think he got out of Wales at the right time and shouldn't have come back. He'd gone as far as he could plugging holes in his attacking game with strengths elsewhere and couldn't keep up with what other top European coaches have been doing for four years now since catching up in other areas.
Truly elite coach. Absolute ****** (should be taken as a compliment a la POM's boos) / mental game expert. And the basis of his game are littered all over current elite coachess games who've left him in the dust.
His second stint at Wales will and should tarnish his legacy, but only to a certain extent. The WRU being the real perpetrators of the current landscape of Welsh rugby.
Drafting this induced huge inner conflict so I hope you enjoy.
