GATLAND HAILS FARRELL FOR CREATING IRELAND’S WINNING CULTURE
WALES boss Warren Gatland believes that Ireland counterpart Andy Farrell’s “understanding” of a winning culture is integral to his coaching stature.
Marginal title favourites Ireland kick off their Guinness
Six Nations campaign against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
They arrive as the worldranked No 1 team following a spell of sustained success that saw them claim a Test series triumph against the All Blacks in New Zealand, beat South Africa and Australia and also land a Six Nations Triple Crown.
With the World Cup just seven months away, Ireland have moved impressively through the gears, and Gatland is not surprised by Farrell’s success.
“Having worked with him on a couple of Lions tours, he has a great understanding of what a good and winning culture is,” said Gatland. “Having come from his rugby league background and his experiences with Saracens and England and then going on to become (Ireland) coach, I think his understanding of that is important.
“You are able to encompass those elements to get a culture where you can get the best out of your players. He definitely has the skill and ability to do that.”
Although Wales will go into the Principality Stadium clash as underdogs, Ireland know they can expect a huge challenge.
Wales have claimed four successive Six Nations victories against Ireland on home soil, while the Gatland factor also cannot be ignored.
His second stint as Wales head coach begins three years after the first one ended. When he held the post between 2008 and 2019, Wales won four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and reached two World Cup semis.
“The free hit for us is that the expectation and pressure is on them to win as favourites,” added Gatland. “It hasn’t always been the easiest tag for Irish and Welsh teams in the past.
“You can get an upset as there is a huge amount of history and rivalry between the two nations and there have been a lot of close games. The secret, and I am sure Andy will be talking about this, is you don’t run away from that, you embrace the expectations of being the number one team in the world.”