The key message Warren Gatland has given to his 'written-off' Wales
Warren Gatland believes Wales will relish being underdogs for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Ireland. The Principality Stadium encounter kicks off Gatland’s second stint as the Wales head coach, with his previous reign between 2008 and 2019 yielding four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals.
Ireland will arrive in Cardiff as the world’s top-ranked team following a memorable year when they beat New Zealand twice, South Africa and Australia, but they have lost their last four Six Nations games in the Welsh capital since defeating Wales 10 years ago.
“I think all the Welsh like to be underdogs,” Gatland said. “We know how good a team they are. You don’t become the No1 team in the world without consistency. We realise what a challenge that will be, and they have the continuity of being unbeaten in the autumn as well and the confidence that brings.
“The underdog tag is something I have found in the past the Welsh boys tend to relish. They like people writing them off, as it tends to motivate them. I’m confident we will give a good account of ourselves on Saturday and give a good performance.”
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny will make his first Wales start for 19 months, having last featured in the line-up when Wales beat Canada during their 2021 summer internationals. He is joined in the back three by Josh Adams and Rio Dyer, while Gatland has selected six Ospreys forwards, plus centre Joe Hawkins, with Saracens’ Nick Tompkins missing out.
Ospreys scrum-half Rhys Webb is set for a first Wales appearance since November 2020 after being named on the replacements’ bench, where there are roles for Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins, Webb’s regional team half-back partner Owen Williams and hooker Scott Baldwin.
Leicester flanker Tommy Reffell is also among the substitutes, with Gatland selecting a starting Wales back-row of Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau. Gatland added: “Leigh Halfpenny has a little bit of a tight hip, so we kept him out of Tuesday morning’s session. He will train this afternoon.
“He has been one of the top defensive full-backs in world rugby for a number of years. It’s good to see him back. We had a really good selection meeting last night and some really robust debate. Kicking off this first game, we are looking for some experience and continuity. The message to the squad is that people will get an opportunity in this Six Nations.
“We want to do well in this Six Nations, but we have to think long-term about the next seven or eight months in terms of the development of guys who haven’t had much Test rugby and how we get them ready for France (World Cup).”
Offering a bucket-load of experience will be lock and former Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, who wins his 156th Wales cap at the age of 37. “I sat down with Alun Wyn and had a good discussion about where he is, and I just said we need to bring some of the other second rows on as well and give them some game time going forward,” Gatland said.
“He is well aware of that. He has been fantastic in the past week or so in terms of his voice and experience, and I want those younger second-rows to learn from that experience. I have always been a great admirer of his, but we have got to go through the process of some transition.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to comments