Warren Gatland has spoken about the death of his first child, and revealed how tragedy shaped both his life and coaching career.

The former Wales head coach, 62, said losing his daughter Shauna, who died at four months in 1992, had a “significant impact” that stayed with him for years.

Shauna was born with spine bifida – a condition where the spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb.

New Zealander Gatland and his wife Trudi had undergone scans during the pregnancy but had no indication of any problems before her birth in January of that year.

“Trudi was amazing,” Gatland said.

“It was challenging afterwards.

“I’d actually gone on a rugby trip to Australia and she passed away when I was over there.

“That took a number of years to get over.”

Gatland was speaking on The Dom Harvey Podcast, where he reflected on how the experience had influenced the way he thinks about rugby, family and life.

He recalled the shock in hospital after Shauna’s arrival.

A specialist later told him her case was “probably a nine out of 10” in terms of severity.

The former British & Irish Lions coach said the tragedy had a “massive impact” on how he viewed rugby, and that he often reminded teams how fortunate they were to be paid to do a job they loved – but that “the most important thing in your life is family”.

Gatland stressed that when players felt supported at home, it translated into stronger performances on the field.

He said throughout his coaching career he has allowed players to “miss training” if there were problems at home, or if they simply “needed time with loved ones”.

Gatland said he never hesitated to give them time off, knowing that “by doing that, I get so much more in return.”

The couple had two other children – daughter Gabby and son Bryn, who has played for a number of teams in New Zealand and Japan, including his dad’s former club Waikato.

“I loved the pressure, I loved the responsibility, and I thrive on being involved with teams that have been underdogs,” Gatland said about his involvement with Wales.

Gatland took over following a group stage exit to Fiji at the 2007 World Cup in France.

Within months, he had completely changed the team’s fortunes around and Wales were Grand Slam champions in 2008.

He remained in charge until 2019, during which time, they reached two World Cup semi-finals, and won two further Grand Slams in 2012 and 2019.

Gatland returned in 2022 following the sacking of Wayne Pivac – but this spell was to prove far less successful, and he left in 2025 with the team on a record losing run.

He admitted that the constant pressure of the role eventually took its toll, and said “I struggled with the negativity in the end”.

“I’ve made a lot of sacrifices in my life,” he added.

“And I want to make sure in the next 15 to 20 years I get to really enjoy and do the things I want to do.”

On whether he has any regrets about his career, he said: “nothing that springs to mind.

“There is always times where you might’ve done something a little bit differently, but I don’t dwell too much on the past.

“You can’t change things – you have to learn from experiences.”