Northern | US
78 - 14
FT
U20
32 - 38
FT
U20
31 - 38
FT
34 - 27
FT
U20
38 - 21
FT
U20
31 - 33
FT
25 - 24
FT
U20
45 - 15
FT
U20
104 - 7
FT
U20
90 - 22
FT
U20
28 - 20
FT
52 - 14
FT
Tomorrow
02:00
U20
Tomorrow
02:00
U20
Tomorrow
04:30
U20
Tomorrow
04:30
U20
Tomorrow
07:00
U20
Tomorrow
07:00
U20
Tomorrow
09:30
U20
Tomorrow
09:30
U20
Saturday
00:10
Saturday
01:40
Saturday
03:10
Saturday
06:10
Saturday
08:40
Saturday
10:00
Saturday
12:00
Saturday
12:10
Saturday
15:00
Saturday
15:15
Saturday
18:00
Saturday
18:00
Six NationsIrelandWales

Gatland's message for Wales after his final Six Nations campaign


Wales head coach Warren Gatland
Comments
Comment

Warren Gatland is hopeful Wales can continue the fine work he has set in motion after he departs later this year, although he admits he will miss the Six Nations.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gatland became the first coach to win three Grand Slams when Wales crushed Ireland 25-7 at a raucous Principality Stadium on Saturday.

The former Ireland boss will leave his post after this year’s Rugby World Cup – with Wayne Pivac to take over – having been in charge of Wales since 2007.

Gatland is confident he has restored the team’s pride and respect – and will be watching on when they return to defend their Six Nations championship in 2020.

“Sitting somewhere next year watching the Six Nations, it’ll be something I miss,” he told a news conference.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvFHIkggyKJ/

“But having been involved here so long, I just hope they can continue what we’ve done in the last 10 or 12 years in terms of putting some respectability back in that jersey – being successful and being a team that is hard to beat.

“I know that when the players put that red jersey on, it’s not always about winning but the Welsh public want to see this group try hard. If they do that, it’s all you can ask for.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Those are the sort of things that I’m going to miss with this group.”

Asked if he had been seen shedding a tear at full-time, Gatland replied: “It was the rain, I think.

“There’s no doubt that I was reasonably emotional afterwards. It’s great. I get such a buzz out of watching those guys go up and collect trophies and celebrate. That’s what it’s all about.”

Wales climbed above Ireland to hold second spot in rugby’s official world rankings, and they will head to the World Cup in Japan later this year – Gatland’s swansong – as major title contenders.

“This group of players will run through a brick wall for you,” Gatland said. “I am excited for the World Cup because you get two or three months together and you can prepare like a club side.

ADVERTISEMENT

Warren Gatland ahead of Ireland clash:

Video Spacer

Get the RugbyPass App 📱

Follow the biggest matches with live scores, line-ups, news and analysis, all in the RugbyPass App.

Download Here
On Apple IOS, Android, and Tablet.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

1

Exeter Chiefs left counting the cost of their Gallagher Prem Final defeat

2

'It's a bad injury': Elrigh Louw called up as Springbok injury crisis worsens

1
3

EPCR announce significant rule changes to Champions Cup and Challenge Cup

13
4

Bought not built: Rassie's importing has sacrificed the identity of Bok rugby

76
5

'Lacked a bit of detail': Quade Cooper on All Blacks' troubles and new coach Rennie

4
6

Rassie Erasmus doubles down on Henry Pollock verdict

4
7

Springboks' place at top of world rankings comes under threat

6
8

Antoine Dupont pulls out of France's Nations Championship

26

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

LONG READ

Meet the college wrestling star propelling the USA towards Rugby World Cup 2027

Cory Daniel only took up rugby at 24, but has cemented his position as a dynamic and vital back-row forward for the USA Men's Eagles.

LONG READ

Will Marshall mellow for Galthie's strengthened France?

Les Bleus came in for criticism when arrived in New Zealand with a fallow side a year ago but this French team is a different proposition

2
LONG READ

Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

A Six Nations statistical deep dive suggests the European nations are no longer trailing their Rugby Championship counterparts.

36

Comments on RugbyPass

C
Conrad 7 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

That’s true and with some very experienced players in their defensive line.

36 Go to comments
u
unknown 13 minutes ago
Champions Cup draw: Saints pitted with Bath as Saracens grouped with 3 winners

Dull format which needs an overhaul

1 Go to comments
C
Conrad 14 minutes ago
Neil Barnes labels box kick trend 'overboard', France narrative 'rubbish'

Agree. If he and they channel it right then big time.

25 Go to comments
C
Conrad 17 minutes ago
There's only one selection that truly matters for the All Blacks this July

Fair but I would risk it for a biscuit.

Him and Richie! Ahhh



...

116 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 17 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

They will be, but they must focus on getting the job done. Not Henry pollock. Or anything else for that matter.

15 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 18 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

Hope you’re right!

15 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 32 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

Apart from maybe losing RG Snyman in his normal role off the bench, the lock department can’t really be described as threadbare for this test. So I don’t think that’s a real vulnerability.

Manie Libbok has been at 80% in Japan League One this year. And already showed, before he left SA, that his technique had improved with the shorter run up.



...

15 Go to comments
L
Lou Cifer 39 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Exactly! should’ve probably been 2+ penalty tries awarded

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 42 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Yeah plus when you kick a pen the ball comes back off the kick off and you then have to exit so it makes sense to go for the corner and look for a try because you keep the possession and territory and keep the pressure up.

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 45 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

For sure. The games down South are always Skewed towards the Southern teams because the Northern sides are coming off a long season where they have already played 10 internationals and have been going for 10 months. Even so though the South do win when they similarly go up North in just as trying conditions so the Northern sides must really get better and improve their end of season mentality

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 45 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Yeah. They need it.

I'm Irish but I got a great bounce watching the wallabies in the lions tests. Definite potential.



...

33 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 47 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

I think hes done plenty of articles before about speed of game, ball in play time, pens etc in the Southern context and the North are now seemingly ahead in terms of key metrics that determine the quality of game especially those that World Rugby are after in terms of creating more value for fans

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 48 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Plenty would say that. When he first came to Leinster the guy ended careers. Overnight.

33 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 49 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

England were really awful on defence that game, were shellshocked half way through it

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 50 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Toner was treated terribly. Nobody would call him world class but he had to have been one of the most improved players at test level for a period. He was the only reason the 2016 SA tour was even close. Awful treatment in the end.

Henshaw has spoken about being the 24th man early on and accompanying the sqaud on tours. Schmidt would still expect non-playing sqaud memebrs to be able to talk him through all the set plays when he asked them. If you couldn't, it was never overlooked.



...

33 Go to comments
G
GrahamVF 50 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

In all fairness the ref backed off giving penalties and after the pack had marched the Irish pack backwards on the double for ten meters then folded he tol the Bok scrummie “Play it.”

The psychological advantage of being so comprehensively dismantled in the scrums is huge. You can fix missed tackles and sloppy attack - even fix high ball skills - but it’s far more difficult to fix an entire scrum when they are that comprehensively beaten. And that’s what Rassie’s aim was - not necessarily scoreboard dominance but to send the message if you want to play on the same field as us you had better fix your scrum. Like I said - not so easily done.



...

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 53 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

How do you judge the North South battle and if the North is catching the South? I think theres a couple of categories to consider. In the early 2000’s the South was ahead on almost every category that determines the quality of rugby playing region. I would say the categories are:

Coaching



...

36 Go to comments
G
GrahamVF 56 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

“Having opened it up coincided with a massive uplift in the success of the Springboks.” That and the development of black and Coloured players. A huge previously untapped resource to the Springboks.

36 Go to comments
G
GrahamVF 59 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

“The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field.”

Great para and sums it up perfectly. In SA we were sooooo tired of the endless 26 phase going nowhere or backwards cycles of Super Rugby the URC came as a breath of fresh air. We were back to the various elements that make rugby stand out from league. Scrum, ruck, lineout, maul - variety fGs



...

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

36 Go to comments
Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Search Timezones
Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Copied to clipboard

Share Article close