Warren Gatland announced British and Irish Lions coach for New Zealand tour

Wales chief Warren Gatland has been named as the British and Irish Lions coach for the upcoming tour of New Zealand next year.

Gatland successfully led the Lions to a 2-1 Test series victory during their previous tour of Australia in 2013 and overall the team had won eight out of the 10 games on the tour. Also, the 52-year-old has an eight-month sabbatical for the Lions role with the Welsh Rugby Union.

The Lions are scheduled to play three Tests against the All Blacks while they will also take on the Super Rugby sides apart from their clashes against Provincial Union XV and Maori All Blacks.

Adding to the woes of Gatland will be New Zealand selector Grant Fox's announcement of giving the Super Rugby sides an open access to the All Blacks internationals for the series against Lions.

Describing the tour of 2013 as one of the major achievement in his coaching career, Gatland is confident that the Lions will be able to upstage the All Blacks in the three-Test series.

"Coaching the Lions is a great privilege. The 2013 tour was a real career highlight for me and I'm honoured to be offered the role again," Gatland said.

"I know from having been in New Zealand recently how much excitement there is ahead of next year.

"For the All Blacks a Lions series is the ultimate test, but I'm 100 per cent confident that we can go and win in New Zealand." 

The Hamilton born former Waikato hooker is expected to announce the coaching team before the end of the year.

"The chance to work with the best players from the four Home Nations is a coach's dream and we have some outstanding talent to select from," Gatland said.

"Likewise, there are some outstanding coaches who could potentially be involved and we'll look to announce them in December.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how they and the players get on domestically, in Europe and internationally."

Gatland's recent tour of New Zealand with Wales ended in a 0-3 whitewash. However, who has previously coached Connacht, Ireland, Wasps and Waikato admitted that he had no hesitation when the role was offered to him and is hoping for a better result this time around.

"You get offered probably the biggest job in world rugby against the best opposition in world rugby, you get that sort of challenge and it is very difficult to walk away from that.

"When I was offered the position, it was definitely a 'yes' straightaway.

"It's massive. Having played against the Lions, I know what it means to face the Lions and have that opportunity. To go to New Zealand and lead the team against back-to-back world champions, consistently the best team in the world, in their back yard is no bigger challenge.

"I am hugely forward looking to the challenge and the prospect ahead.

"You have got to go there with that belief that we can put a squad together, a coaching team and management team that are capable of going down there and being successful in New Zealand.

"To challenge yourself against the best, there is no bigger challenge, and I think everyone is hugely excited about the next 10 months, really.

"You want people with confidence in their ability and confidence to play in what is going to be an incredibly tough environment.

"One of the challenges for me as the coach is often you are picking players who are used to being number one in their own position at their club and for the their nation, and sometimes you come together in a Lions set-up, and you could be number two or three.

"You are looking for people who are positive characters who can handle disappointment, sometimes, and be part of the squad. The make-up of the personnel is going to be incredibly important, and we will be looking closely at making sure we pick the right people."