Gatland: ABs still on another level
Wales coach Warren Gatland, with an eye on next year’s World Cup, feels the All Blacks remain ‘‘on another level’’ and will have refocused after their loss to the Springboks.
The Kiwi enters the final year of his long and successful spell with Wales, hoping for sign-off success in the Six Nations and at next year’s World Cup in Japan.
In a lengthy interview with Walesonline, Gatland was asked if he saw the World
Cup as ‘‘particularly open’’?
‘‘You’d like to think so, with Ireland and ourselves, and there has been some resurgence in Scotland. England, with the amount of depth they have, are capable of winning the World Cup if they get it right,’’ Gatland said, with Ireland and Wales trailing only the All Blacks in the current world rankings.
‘‘So it is pretty exciting. We have gone into World Cups hoping to be competing with southern hemisphere teams. Apart from the All Blacks, who are still another level ahead, there isn’t much between the other teams.’’
Gatland felt New Zealand’s recent 36-34 loss to South Africa in Wellington would be a timely wakeup call for Steve Hansen’s side, particularly around tactics as he joined the chorus of dismay at the All Blacks’ inability to go for a drop goal to win the game when they were perfectly set as the final siren sounded.
‘‘Sometimes when you lose a game it highlights some of the things you haven’t been focusing on,’’ Gatland said.
‘‘There is no doubt they probably haven’t been thinking about dropped goals in the last two or three years.
‘‘It is something they didn’t even practise in 2007 when they lost to France. It has probably refocused in terms of what they need to concentrate on at the World Cup if a game is tight and close.’’ Gatland, who coached the British and Irish Lions to a drawn test series in New Zealand last year, felt recent results in the southern hemisphere augured well for the global game ‘‘I think the All Blacks losing to South Africa recently was good for rugby, although as a Kiwi I don’t want them to lose. It was also good for rugby in terms of Argentina beating Australia as well. You don’t want one team continually dominating the game,’’ he told Walesonline, though he was quick to add some perspective.
‘‘If they look back at that game South Africa will know it was a great result, but with a 14-point lead if New Zealand had scored again it would probably have ended up as a 40-point blowout.
‘‘It was one of those games. South Africa got an intercept, there was a quick lineout throw, Beauden Barrett has missed four from six kicks at goal, they didn’t take the drop goal and if Damian McKenzie holds on to that pass at the end of the game they probably would have scored.’’