'It would break my heart if Wales went back into the doldrums'
Warren Gatland says it would break his heart if Welsh rugby ever returned to the doldrums. Gatland’s twelve-year reign as Wales coach ended with a 40-17 defeat in the World Cup bronze-medal match against New Zealand at Tokyo Stadium.
Wales won four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, reached two World Cup semi-finals and were briefly world-ranked No1 team under his direction. Gatland’s assistants Shaun Edwards and Robin McBryde are also leaving their posts, with a new coaching team headed by Wayne Pivac taking over this month.
When Gatland was appointed in late 2007, Wales had earlier crashed out of that year’s World Cup at the pool stage following a horror defeat by Fiji in Nantes.
“I really hope for what we’ve achieved in the last 10-12 years, and we feel we’ve earned respect and put respect back into Wales as an international team, that the new coaches coming in continue to build on that,” Gatland said.
“Because what we have done, what we have achieved, it would break my heart if Wales went back into the doldrums. I just want them to continue. There’s an opportunity for the new group to come in and build on what we’ve created and to improve on it.
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“It’s not to be too greedy on winning the Six Nations every year, but going out there and performing well in the Six Nations. And to continue to hopefully get a few Six Nations titles over the way and make sure we are as competitive as we can possibly be against the other top nations.
“We feel we have done that, and I really want Wales to continue to build on that. I want to see these boys be as successful as they possibly can.”
There was no fairytale finish for Gatland as the All Blacks ran in six tries, although Wales replied with touchdowns for wing Josh Adams and full-back Hallam Amos. Adams’ score took him to seven touchdowns for the tournament, breaking Shane Williams’ Welsh record for one World Cup in 2007.
Securing the bronze medal at the 2019 World Cup was beyond Wales… here's how their XV rated against New Zealand https://t.co/yiDyMehneO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2019
Gatland, who will coach the Barbarians against Wales in Cardiff later this month, added: “I had already gone through that process of knowing it was my last game and not trying to get too emotional about it.
“I had come to a realisation about it a long time ago. It’s something I had prepared myself for and (to) start thinking about the next challenges in life.
“There will be a good crowd there (for the Barbarians game) and hopefully it gives me a chance to say thank you to the Welsh public and fans and express my sincere thanks in terms of on how much I’ve enjoyed these last 12 years.
Departing All Blacks boss Steve Hansen has stepped away with a message for those who run the Six Nations https://t.co/ESN2bMSRUi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2019
“If you ask them (Wales players) to run through a brick wall, the next question is ‘what do you want me to do when I get to the other side?'”
New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen, who also steps down after the World Cup, said: “We (Hansen and Gatland) have played 10 times, I think, and it might be eight wins (to New Zealand), one loss, one draw. It’s been competitive, yeah. He’s coaching a team, Wales, I once coached, and he has done a wonderful job.
“Having him back in New Zealand (at the Chiefs) for a year, I’m not sure how that is going to work because he’s going to do the (British and Irish) Lions after that, so not a lot of continuity for him or the Chiefs, but I am sure he’ll work his way through that.”
– Press Association
WATCH: All Blacks fans in sombre mood despite their third-place World Cup finish
Comments on RugbyPass
Probably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
198 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
198 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
2 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
198 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
2 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
198 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
198 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
198 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
4 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
4 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
198 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
198 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
198 Go to comments