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Warren Gatland reveals the key player Wales missed in their World Cup semi-final defeat

By Online Editors
Warren Gatland. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images for Barbarians)

Former Wales head coach Warren Gatland has reflected on how sorely his side missed the presence of injured utility back Gareth Anscombe in his team’s World Cup semi-final defeat to the Springboks in October.

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Wales lost 19-16 to eventual champions South Africa in Yokohama in the knockout fixture, bringing an end to Gatland’s 12-year tenure with the side.

Gatland’s final match with Wales came a week later in the ensuing bronze final, which they lost 40-17 at the hands of the All Blacks in Tokyo.

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However, it was a fixture the Welsh may have avoided had they had the services of Anscombe available to them, according to the 56-year-old.

Anscombe was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a World Cup warm-up fixture against England at Twickenham in August, leaving him sidelined for up to eight months.

Speaking to WalesOnline, Gatland said that although he doesn’t normally dwell on player injuries as they “are part of the game”, he admitted that Anscombe could have been the difference between making the World Cup final in Japan.

“We gave it everything in that semi-final against South Africa and at 16-16 with 10 minutes to go we were in control of the ball, the momentum had swung our way, I thought we were going to win and get ourselves into a World Cup final,” Gatland said.

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“It wasn’t to be but that’s just rugby, it’s sport. I was gutted.

“That was the first time in my whole time that I felt we really missed a player and that was Gareth Anscombe. He was a big loss for us.

“Rhys Patchell did really well for us in a World Cup and Dan [Biggar] was excellent.

“But I just felt that the balance we had with Anscombe and Biggar beforehand, they complimented each other really well. They’re different types of players and you’re able to use them differently and use your strengths differently.

“It was the first time in my entire coaching career I felt that the loss of one player had a real effect.”

Wales had also lost veteran No. 8 Taulupe Faletau to injury prior to the tournament, while Cory Hill, Liam Williams, George North, Josh Navidi and Tomas Francis were all injured during their tilt for a maiden World Cup crown.

“If you lose someone like [Taulupe] Faletau – and we know how good he is – we’ve got other players who are able to fill the space,” Gatland told WalesOnline.

“A fit Faletau at his best would have been significant but there are other quality loose forwards there, so I felt like we could manage that.

“Anscombe is someone that we missed.”

Now back in New Zealand in his new role as Chiefs head coach, Gatland’s focus will now turn to the 2020 Super Rugby season, which kicks-off against the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on January 31.

He will then take a year-long sabbatical to take charge of the British and Irish Lions’ 2021 tour of South Africa before returning to the Hamilton franchise to take the helm of the club through to 2023.

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Jon 8 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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john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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