The Cardiff Blues back row man worked closely with Gatland on the highly successful 2013 tour in Australia, when the Lions won their first series in 16 years. Gatland made Warburton tour captain and he helped to deliver a 2-1 victory over the Wallabies.
The Wales head coach was installed as the Lions’ head coach once again this week and it will be the third time the New Zealand-born Gatland has toured with the legendary combined team. He was the forwards coach in South Africa in 2009.
“Warren brings experience and the fact he has been on a winning Lions tour already. And he was the forwards coach in South Africa before that and unlucky not to do a bit better out there,” said Warburton.
“The one thing that I remember from the Lions tour in 2013 is that we were all told as players to appreciate the history of the jersey and I think Warren has got a head start from that point of view with two tours under his belt.
“The one thing that surprised me in 2013 was that I found there was no need for team building. If you are selected to go with the Lions you feel so lucky and privileged – you want to be there and have no other option other than to bond together.
“You all feel so lucky to be there and you have a fantastic time. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that nobody wants to waste. For me, getting to know the guys was second nature and one of the easiest tasks because it happened so naturally.”
Both Warburton and Gatand experienced at first-hand just how powerful New Zealand are at the moment on Wales’ three-Test summer tour. That left the Welsh skipper in no doubt about just how tough next year’s 10 game tour is going to be.
“New Zealand are clearly the best team in the world over the past 10 years, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beat them. Any team is beatable, that’s sport,” added Warburton.
“They have shown in their last two games why they are the best team in the world. But they have shown consistently, year after year that they are a fantastic side.
“I’ve said it before when people have pointed out they are missing experienced players. You only have to look at Nick Williams, who is playing here at the Blues, that they have unbelievable strength in depth.
“You might take out an experienced player, but they never lose talent because their playing pool is so strong. They could probably pick up 10 injuries and still be one of the competitors to win the World Cup – they will always be a fantastic team.”
Warburton is likely to be one of the leading candidates to lead the Lions again – only England’s Martin Johnson has skippered the Lions on successive tours – but he says he won’t start thinking about the tour until well into the New Year.
“Everybody would love to go on the tour, that’s a given. But if you sit down and have the mindset that you are going, and suddenly you have shoulder reconstruction or whatever, and you don’t go, the bottom can fall out of your world,” he said.
“You don’t want to think too much like that. Don’t get your hopes up and think too far ahead because the tour is such a long way away.
“There will be players who play fantastically well at the start of the season, yet come the end of season awards in April or May they won’t get recognised. You would love it to happen, but you have to prioritise your club and then country – there is a long road to negotiate and I don’t think players will be focussing on that until 2017.”
As far as the captaincy is concerned the record breaking Welsh skipper has a siple piece of advice to anyone who is offered the role – grab it with both hands!
“As with so many life experiences, if you fully commit yourself, and throw yourself into them, they never turn out to be as bad as you feared. That would be my advice to anyone who is named as captain – just throw yourself into it 100%,” he added.
“It can seem like a daunting task, but you will love it. Once you get your hands on it, and come to terms with it all, you realise it is such a massive honour.
“It is probably the most pressure I have ever been under, but I came out of it on the other side fine. What I learned is that sometimes you have to go out of your comfort zone to achieve things.
“You are definitely taken out of your comfort zone if you are picked as Lions captain because it is such a high-profile role with all the media commitments and commercial obligations. Then you have the playing side – it’s a big responsibility.
“You always think things are going to be worse than they actually are so you have to throw yourself into these situations. Anyone who is offered the job should grab it with both hands because it is a fantastic experience.”
