'Part one hasn't come off': Gatland's take on Jones' 'curveball' selections

Wales coach Warren Gatland has been unable to resist a little dig at Eddie Jones and his initial failures to rejuvenate the Wallabies as the pre-World Cup war of words begins to crank into gear.

Gatland, whose men will be tackling Australia in a key group-stage match, admitted on Thursday to being surprised at selection “curveballs” thrown by Jones in his squad announced for the tournament in France.

The New Zealander was also asked what he thought of Jones’s bullish comments, following the Wallabies’ second-straight loss to the All Blacks and a winless Rugby Championship, that Australia could “100 per cent” still win the World Cup.

“As a matter of fact, I think we will,” Jones had added in typically ebullient fashion. “If I could bet on it, I would, but I think you get in trouble if you bet.”

Those observations met with a wry response from his old trans-Tasman rival on Thursday.

“He [Eddie] was pretty confident he was going to beat South Africa and New Zealand as well,” noted Gatland.

“He’s spoken really positively about what they are capable of doing. Eddie talked about smash and grab in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe.

“Maybe part two of that will work – but part one hasn’t come off.”

Of the selection which Jones’ youthful World Cup squad announced on Thursday, which features only one recognised specialist fly-half and no place for former captain Michael Hooper and mercurial No.10 Quade Cooper, Gatland added: “Will Skelton as captain was a little bit of a surprise.

“He [Eddie] seems comfortable with throwing a few curve-balls in there.”

Meanwhile, Gatland was confident his key back-row forward Taulupe Faletau will be available for the World Cup.

The Cardiff No.8 will play no part in the warm-up schedule as he continues his recovery from a calf injury but Gatland offered a promising longer-term report of his chances of being ready for the group stages, which will feature the match against Australia in Lyon on September 24.

“He trained pretty well today, he is not feeling anything in his calf, so we are pretty confident he is available for selection,” said Gatland.

“I am expecting a group of players who are desperate to perform (on Saturday). It is a good situation to be in.”

Gatland had also enjoyed stirring the pot at the weekend after his side had beaten England at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, suggesting Wales were “too fit for them” and that “some of the English forwards were blowing a bit just before halftime”.

It left England coach Steve Borthwick responding on Thursday before the return fixture at Twickenham this weekend that he was satisfied with his team’s conditioning.

He says England are on track to be ready for the World Cup under the guidance of Aled Walters, who acted as South Africa’s head of conditioning for their triumph in 2019.

“The programme is very specific and direct for what we need to do with the players we have,” Borthwick said.

“In Aled Walters, with his experience of getting a team right to win a World Cup, we’ve got a guy who’s proven to get a team together at the right time.”