Bravest, gutsiest Wales performance... ever
Beating Boks in November gave Gatland’s men belief they could match anyone
WARREN GATLAND has always demanded honesty from his Wales team who showed guts and determination to memorably sink England on Saturday but above all else, the New Zealander has instilled conviction and self-belief into the fabled red shirt.
Gatland’s tenure in charge of Wales has brought plenty of big moments and success but none more so than the thrilling fightback to beat the old enemy 28-25, throwing the Rugby World Cup hosts into disarray.
Wales’s style under Gatland has often been referred to as “Warrenball”, a term used to reflect a direct and combative style, or more simply put, big men running hard.
The likes of colossal lock Alun Wyn Jones and rugged number eight Toby Faletau eventually got Wales on to the front foot, but it was courage that came to the fore at Twickenham, epitomised by the way they reorganised after three injuries in quick succession left their backline in tatters.
Winger George North moved into midfield and back-up scrumhalf Lloyd Williams popped up on the left wing to produce the defining moment of the game, his burst and kick allowing Gareth Davies to score under the posts.
Dan Biggar capped a fine display with the game-winning penalty to leave one Welsh media organisation hailing the “bravest, gutsiest, most remarkable Welsh performance the nation has ever seen”.
That Wales, despite the injury setbacks, appeared to be the fitter side entering the decisive period should be no surprise.
After the departure of Adam Beard to the NFL, Gatland turned to a familiar face in Toulon conditioning guru Paul Stridgeon, who had worked with the New Zealander on previous British and Irish Lions tours.
Gatland’s Wales reached the World Cup semi-finals four years ago and might have overcome France had it not been for captain Sam Warburton’s first-half red card.
Six Nations Championships titles followed in 2012, when they won the grand slam, and in 2013 but the belief, the real belief that they were a match for anyone came in November last year.
After 22 consecutive failures against the southern hemisphere’s big three, a 12-6 win over South Africa in Cardiff got Wales over that mental line.
Losing at home to England at the start of this year’s Six Nations proved a setback but Wales responded by winning their remaining four matches, including impressive victories in Paris over France and at home to eventual champions Ireland.
The loss of Leigh Halfpenny, up there with the best penalty-kickers in the game, and scrumhalf Rhys Webb before the tournament left many questioning whether Wales could respond.
But their epic fightback at Twickenham where they won for only the third time since 1988 left Gatland fully savouring a triumph against what he often refers to as “the richest, most powerful union in the world” and “not always the most popular with other countries because of their history”.
Wales still have hard work ahead to reach the knockout stage – Fiji will test their squad depth and resolve on Thursday before Australia loom in their pool finale.
But you write off Gatland’s men at your peril – whatever the setbacks. – Reuters AUSTRALIA are not looking to scrape into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals courtesy of bonus points or try differentials and are aiming to win every one of their Pool A matches, coach Michael Cheika said yesterday.
The Wallabies got half the job done by following up their opening victory over Fiji with a 65-3 thumping of Uruguay in Birmingham yesterday but encounters with England next Saturday and Wales the following weekend lie ahead.
A dramatic victory for Wales over England on Saturday night had major implications for the toughest ever pool in World Cup history but for Cheika, Australia’s mission remains simple.
“Mate, I don’t even think about that stuff,” Cheika told reporters.
“That’s the attitude if we’re only looking to get out of our pool. No one’s won the World Cup unless they’ve won every game. I’ve never been here before but I figured that’s what you’ve sort of got to do.
“I’m not being a smart alec, our plan is not to just scrounge through, we’ve got to just play well every game and let the results take care of themselves.”
That is not to say that Cheika thinks Australia are already at a level where they can hand hosts England defeats in successive weeks at Twickenham.
“Let’s be honest, we’re going have to improve from the first two matches to be able to compete with England,” he said.
“The reality is that England are home team so they’re going to be favourites. It’s a tough place to win. That part is pretty straightforward.”
Although there is clearly an element of mind games about Cheika’s claim to underdog status, and his talk of improvement is as much for internal consumption as external, there is no doubt that the harder part of the pool campaign is to come.
Yesterday’s victory for his secondstring side over the 19th-ranked South Americans came courtesy of 11 tries but there could have been plenty more.
Drew Mitchell scored twice to take his tally of World Cup tries to 12, but the veteran winger would have had two more if the final pass had gone to hand.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper had some bright moments but missed six conversions and spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle, which Cheika said Australia would appeal against.
Scrumhalf Nick Phipps had a quiet game but Henry Speight and Joe Tomane might have given Cheika food for thought about his options out wide. “There’s a few players that definitely put their hand up for selection,” Cheika said.
Unfortunately for Cheika, the best Australian player on the pitch was flanker Sean McMahon, whose two tries and all-round performance will still not move him above David Pocock and Michael Hooper in the pecking order.
“It’s getting a bit ridiculous really because every man of the match is seven or eight,” said Cheika.
“We’ve got some pretty influential players in those positions but as long as he’s there rattling their cage that will keep them honest.” – Reuters