After a fan obtains access to a private number, Warren Gatland receives “sinister” phone messages.

After a fan obtains access to a private number, Warren Gatland receives “sinister” phone messages.

Owen Farrell, the captain of England, stated that he and his family would miss the Six Nations in order to focus on their mental health. The Wales coach then disclosed that he has been the target of’smart, snidey comments’ from the same person for a few years.

The messages were sent as recently as September, on the day that Wales played Australia in the World Cup in France. Gatland usually received about six of them a year.

“Initially, I believed the messages were merely a joke from a friend,” Gatland stated in his Telegraph piece. It just appeared as a message from an Irish number, and I had lived in Ireland before. I didn’t think about it too much. Had I given someone my number without remembering his name? Was someone simply sulking?

“To make sure I knew the messages were coming from the troll, I saved his number under the name ‘Irish d—head’.”

The abuser turned out to be a managing director of an Irish company that Gatland tracked down after receiving the messages for years. Earlier this year, he made the decision to respond and inform the man of his identity.

When Gatland rejoined Wales as coach, the messages resumed, and they even persisted throughout the World Cup.

During this year’s Six Nations, following Wales’ loss to Ireland, Gatland received a text message that said, “Having fun, old stock? When you need Delilah, where is she?

After the defeat to France in Paris at the end of the tournament, that was followed up with another message. It said, “Another glorious campaign pal!” at the time.

That prompted a response from Gatland, indicating that he knew who the troll was. But he reappeared before Wales’ World Cup match against Australia, texting: “‘Waltzing Matilda.'”

Gatland continued in the column, “Funnily enough, I didn’t hear back from him after our 40-6 win.”