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Gatland finally explains what he really meant about England playing their final in the semi-final
Warren Gatland has responded after being witheringly put down by Eddie Jones earlier this week. In the wake of Wales’ semi-final defeat to South Africa on Sunday, Gatland had suggested: ”We have seen in previous World Cups that teams sometimes play their final in semi-finals and don’t always turn up for a final. So it will be interesting to see how England are next week and it could be a good game.”
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That remark didn’t go down well with England boss Jones as he prepares his team to face the Springboks in the final following last Saturday’s dethronement of the All Blacks. “You just send my best wishes to Warren to make sure he enjoys the third and fourth place play-off,” said Jones in a tongue-in-cheek comment at England’s media conference on Tuesday.
A day later, having unveiled his XV for that ridiculed third and fourth place play-off versus New Zealand, Gatland elaborated on what he had meant last Sunday when he spoke about England and their final prospects. “I was reflecting on the experiences I’ve seen in the past,” he explained. “I was thinking about 2011 and the All Blacks.
“They had a big game against Australia in the semi-final and they maybe looked at that as their final. They played France in the final and it was probably a game they thought they could potentially win comfortably. It ended up being a very tight game.
“England were excellent against the All Blacks – it was the best I’ve seen England play in the last 10 years. They were outstanding. It will be a great final with two physical teams and I hope a northern hemisphere team can win the World Cup. It would have been great if two of us could have been in the final, but it wasn’t to be.
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“I wish them all the best. There are a lot of players there who I’ve been fortunate to have had personal contact with through the Lions and I want to wish them all the best.”
Gatland, meanwhile, still sounded somewhat sombre about Wales having to play again so soon after their deflating semi-final loss. “It’s the last game you want to be involved in, but it’s been on the calendar and everyone has known about it,” he said when asked about the relevance of Friday’s play-off.
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“Steve Tew made a joke to Martyn Phillips that both teams should have a boat race and we could settle it that way. When you put the disappointment behind you, you think about the chance to play the All Blacks and that gets you excited.
Eddie Jones not holding back this week… #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/MNoQCbOxhJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 28, 2019
“Hopefully as coaches we’ve put the disappointment of the last 48 hours behind us and can start getting excited for the next 24. It’s the same for the group of players. We want to go out, perform well, and be positive about the way we play.
“The All Blacks will play the same way. Both teams are quite similar in terms of the synergy we are trying to achieve with the selection. Both of us will want to be positive in the way we want to play.”
For Gatland, Friday’s match marks the end of his twelve-year reign in Wales as he will soon return home to New Zealand and will be in charge of the Chiefs for the 2020 Super Rugby season. “What Wales have given me is an opportunity and I’ve absolutely loved my time. We’ve been lucky enough to have had a lot of success. There have been some lows and disappointments, but I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved,” he reflected.
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It’s the game no one wants to play – and TVNZ will not screen the All Blacks’ playoff for the #RWC2019 bronze medal with Wales on Friday night.#RWCFinal #RWCBronze #AllBlacks #WALvNZL #NZLvWAL https://t.co/8oSKVbby0b
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 28, 2019
“We’ve punched massively above our weight and success as a coach isn’t always about winning – it’s about overachieving as a team and we’ve definitely done that. We’re a very small playing nation with a lot of history and the biggest memory I have is the smile we’ve put back on people’s faces to wear the red jersey again and to support the team.
“That makes a massive difference to the whole of Wales as they’re proud of the team and the players wear it with pride. They put in 100 per cent and as a coach that’s all you can ask.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
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