Former Wales rugby head coach Warren Gatland has revealed the heartbreaking details surrounding the death of his baby daughter, explaining how the devastating loss profoundly influenced his life and career.
The 62 year old’s first daughter, Shauna, was merely four months old when she tragically died in May 1992, having been born with spina bifida. The condition develops when a baby’s spine and spinal cord fails to form correctly in the womb, resulting in a gap appearing in the spine.
Gatland, who was then playing for Irish club side Galwegians, and his wife Trudi had undergone scans before the birth with no indication of any health complications with the baby. Nevertheless, her condition became evident after her birth in January that year, and it was so serious that doctors subsequently decided against performing any surgical intervention.
Speaking candidly about the tragic loss during an appearance on The Dom Harvey podcast, Gatland confessed that it had a “significant impact” on him and took him “a number of years to get over”, having been away on a rugby trip in Australia when Shauna died.
“She was our first born, she unfortunately lived for about four months,” he revealed. “She was born with spina bifida. We had a couple of scans and just did not know. She was born in Ireland, in Galway. We’d been going backwards and forwards to Ireland for a few years.”
“It was challenging. When she was born in hospital, I didn’t realise but the midwife and nurses were crying, and all of a sudden everyone was running around and stuff. We got specialists involved and and I can remember talking to one of the specialists a few days later and saying, you know, in terms of spina bifida, out of 10, how bad is she? He said probably a nine out of 10.
“Trudi was amazing,” he added. “It was challenging afterwards as well because we would go and see the doctor every now and again, and I’d actually gone on a rugby trip to Australia and she passed away while I was over there. That took me a number of years to get over.”
Whilst the heartbreak was devastating, Gatland confessed that Shauna’s death had also brought about a meaningful change in his life, having subsequently welcomed children Gabby and Bryn with Trudi.
Disclosing that he frequently speaks to his children about their late sister, the former Wales boss said the family honours her memory twice annually.
“I often talk to the kids about Shauna and tell them that they are probably here because of her, because we wouldn’t have had Gabby quite as soon as we did after Shauna had passed away, and then obviously we had Bryn,” he explained.
“I look at it as a really challenging time but we’ve ended up with two amazing kids. Sometimes you’ve got to look at the things that are difficult in your life but also try to transfer them into the positives.
“We always light a candle on her birthday, January 17th, and then one in May as well,” Gatland shared. “It’s like everything, it’s always there. People say time is a great healer, but you never forget it.
“It’s your own personal thing that as a family, you’re conscious of and you go through, and I know it’s something that Trudi and I always find significant and remember. It had a massive impact – challenging but in a way, positively – in our lives as well.”
The Kiwi coach also confessed that the tragedy not only shaped him as a father but also influenced his coaching ethos, promoting a ‘family first’ mentality throughout his career.
“What happened had a really significant impact on me, it wasn’t in the short term but [more] what I thought about in my coaching career later on,” Gatland revealed.
“Any teams that I’ve been involved in, I’ve spoken about how fortunate we are to be well-paid and get those opportunities, but the most important thing in your life is your family. If things are alright at home, if you’ve got support from your family, then as a coach you get a much better product on the field.
“Often a player comes to me and says, ‘Oh, my partner’s got a scan, can I miss training?’ or something’s wrong with one of the kids at home or there’s some relationship issues. I’ve never had a problem with giving players some time or them missing some stuff because I know by doing that, I get so much more in return from those players.”
