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Former Wales Rugby head coach Warren Gatland has opened up on the heartbreaking death of his first child, who tragically passed away at just four months old in 1992.
Gatland, 62, and his wife Trudi lost baby daughter Shauna after she was born with spina bifida, a rare condition where the spine and spinal cord fail to develop properly inside the womb.
Shauna's condition, however, was not picked up by scans during the pregnancy until her birth in January 1992 — and Gatland knew something was not right when he spotted midwives crying shortly after the birth.
Opening up on the tragedy, the New Zealander told The Dom Harvey Podcast: 'She was born in Ireland, in Galway. We’d been going backwards and forwards to Ireland for a few years.
'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. 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.'
Ex-Wales Rugby coach Warren Gatland has opened up on the tragic death of his first child
Six Nations icon Gatland and his wife Trudi (left) lost Shauna in 1992 before going on to have two more children - Gabby (right) and Bryn (centre right), who are both now in their thirties
Gatland, pictured in 2017, admitted the tragedy had a 'massive impact' on his coaching career
The hooker, who had called time on his international career in 1991 but was still playing for domestic outfit Waikato at the time, went on to enjoy a fruitful career in coaching, taking up roles with the likes of Ireland, London Wasps, Wales and the British & Irish Lions, as well as many teams in New Zealand.
Gatland, who guided Wales to Six Nations glory three times and also led the Lions on three different tours, also explained the 'massive impact' his daughter's tragic death had on his coached career.
'Any teams that I’ve been involved in, I’ve spoken about how lucky we are to be well-paid and get those opportunities, but the most important thing in your life is your family,' he said.
'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.'
The Six Nations icon went on to reveal that, throughout his coaching career, he has allowed players to 'miss training' if there were issues at home or just 'needed to see their loved ones'.
Gatland and Trudi welcomed two more children — Gabby and Bryn — who are both in their thirties. The rugby legend revealed that every year on Shauna's birthday, the family light a candle to honour her memory.
'I often talk to the kids about Shauna and tell them that they are probably here because of her,' he continued.
'We wouldn’t have had Gabby quite as soon as we did after Shauna had passed away, and then obviously we had Bryn.'
