Warren Gatland has admitted a successful British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand will strengthen his chances of coaching the All Blacks in the future.

In his second tour as Lions head coach, following the 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies in 2013, Gatland faces a difficult task, both from a results perspective and as a New Zealander leading a foreign team back to his homeland.

Gatland unsuccessfully led Wales to New Zealand in 2010, 2016 and at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but he knows the Lions is a different prospect altogether.

GETTY IMAGES All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is contracted through until the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"I don't think there would be a greater achievement. I see it as being an unbelievable challenge to go to New Zealand, back-to-back world champions, and trying to beat them in their own backyard," Gatland told The Times.



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"It's a massive honour. I am a very proud Kiwi, desperate to be successful back home against the All Blacks. A really good Irish friend of mine once said to me, 'Remember one thing, a savage loves his native shores.' I uphold that.

"Even though you are away for so much, that is still where I come from and am proud to come from and yet I am desperate to want to do well and beat New Zealand," Gatland said.

Should he secure an underdog triumph over the All Blacks, Gatland admits he would not turn down an offer to succeed Steve Hansen. Ian Foster, Dave Rennie and Joe Schmidt are among other strong contenders to step up after the 2019 World Cup.

"I'm not thinking, 'My plan is to be the All Blacks coach'," Gatland told The Times, explaining he would return to Wales for 2019 and then after his contract there finished take six months off and explore future opportunities. He noted these could include a Super Rugby job or a coaching role in France or the UK.

The Times reported Gatland, who coached Waikato from 2005 to 2007, was offered the coaching job at the Chiefs after the 2011 World Cup - for less money than he had been on with Waikato and considerably less than he was on with Wales.



"But it wasn't a money thing," Gatland said. "I went back and said, 'Is there any chance for a bit of movement - you've offered me less money than in 2007 when I left?' In my mind, I was thinking: If they offer me a little more, say $15,000, I will sign. And they came back and said, 'Take it or leave it.'"



Gatland recalls fondly New Zealand punching above its weight but says his years in the northern hemisphere have given perspective. He has come to understand "how far away and isolated New Zealand is" and "from a world stage, you realise that we are quite insignificant in terms of how we affect the world, the finances or the politics of the world."



Gatland is also keen for his Lions to embrace the haka on their brutal 10 match tour.

"There's nothing to say that we couldn't do our own haka. It's a challenge. It's: We're going into battle here, challenging how tough mentally and physically you are. For me, as a player that brought the competitiveness out of me, the will to want to succeed and get one over my opposition.



"The best person I ever saw who rose to a challenge or loved that stuff was Lawrence Dallaglio. The bigger the occasion, the more he was, 'Bring it on'. You are facing the haka, looking into someone's eye and saying, 'Bring it on'."

