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'New Zealand are the only team I would really worry about'

By Online Editors
Kieran Read and Sam Warburton. Photo / Getty Images

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton is confident that the only roadblock to World Cup success for Wales is the All Blacks after they secured a third Grand Slam under coach Warren Gatland over the weekend.

“If somebody else beat New Zealand and knocked them out of the tournament, as a Welsh fan you would be thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is on’,” Warburton wrote for the Sunday Times.

The retired flanker is not worried about any of the northern neighbours after Gatland’s side thumped Ireland 25-7 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

“Basically New Zealand are the only team I would really worry about Wales playing. If it was anyone else at the moment I would back Wales.”

While Eddie Jones laments the mental lapses of his England side, Warburton believes the mental make-up of the whole nation has changed under Gatland.

“He has simply changed the psychology of the nation. He took over a nation of underachievers and now we expect to win the Six Nations every year. His first impact was on the players, obviously, but that has found its way all the way down to the fans.”

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With the 2019 Grand Slam, Wales surpassed Ireland as the world’s number two side and ended a six-year Six Nations title-drought as England (2) and Ireland (3) shared every title since Wales last won in 2013.

“Wales have been too good over the last five or six years not to have won a title. I’m so, so happy for all the players involved. For Warren, all the coaching staff,” Warburton told BBC One following the game.

“There’s been some ups and downs over the past five or six years but after the performance today to win 25-7 against the second-ranked team in the world, Ireland, is a phenomenal effort. A phenomenal effort. I’m so pleased for everyone involved.”

Warren Gatland reflects on Grand Slam glory:

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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