Gatland sings Parkes’ praises

Warren Gatland has praised Kiwi midfielder Hadleigh Parkes as Wales’ ‘‘cool head’’ after his second man of the match performance.

Parkes and fellow New Zealander Gareth Anscombe played prominent roles in Wales’ 38-14 Six Nations bonus point victory over Italy in Cardiff yesterday that has moved Gatland’s men to second on the Six Nations table.

Midfielder Parkes scored a try and was named man of the match after a strong all-round performance, while Anscombe booted three conversions and a penalty as the Welsh inflicted a 16th consecutive Six Nations defeat on the Azzurri.

A mixture of new faces and returning veterans combined to give the hosts a convincing five tries to two victory that saw star wing George North cross the line twice.

Gatland paid tribute to Parkes, the 30-year-old Super Rugby journeyman from Manawatu, who made his debut for Wales last November – as soon as he met the three-year residency requirement.

‘‘Basically, he doesn’t make mistakes,’’ Gatland said at the post-match press conference.

‘‘Quality players can go through games where, for whatever reason, things don’t happen for them. But if they are mistake-free and don’t give away any penalties, that’s what quality players do. That’s what he does for us.

‘‘That’s his second man of the match for us and if you look at the other games he has played, it’s just how accurate he has been.

‘‘He executes a pass, he carries well, he gets us across the gain-line, he defends well, he’s got a boot on him as well. So he’s got an all-round game. He’s a bit of glue there for us at the moment. We know we have got some outstanding quality players who can be brilliant at times, but they sometimes need a cool head around them at times just to calm them down and make sure we make the right decisions.’’

Gatland hailed North for his two tries, but admitted he had sent a message to fullback Liam Williams by replacing him after the fullback’s yellow card for a high tackle.