Pain of 2015 on coach’s mind

– Coach Warren Gatland (above) is looking to Wales’ Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against France to erase the pain of their nailbiting one-point loss eight years ago in the semifinal.

“It hurts still,” he said of the epic 2011 game, when Wales lost captain Sam Warburton to a red card in the 17th minute and lost 9-8.

With 14 men in a World Cup semifinal, “you expect to lose by 20-30 points and we hung in that game right to the end and had a chance to win it”, Gatland said.

France were up 9-3 when Wales scored the game’s only try midway through the second half to close the gap to one point.

Stephen Jones, now an assistant coach with Gatland, missed the conversion while Leigh Halfpenny fell just short with a longrange penalty at the death.

“To lose that game 9-8 was pretty disappointing but showed to me what this team is all about. They never give up,” said Gatland.

Despite a reported player revolt and losing two pool games, France went on to narrowly lose the 2011 final 8-7 to New Zealand.

And while Wales have had the upper hand in Six Nations matches recently, Gatland said Les Bleus should not be dismissed.

“They’re traditionally a tournament team. At World Cups, when everyone writes them off, they seem to be able to produce a performance that no one expects,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough, physical game and we’re looking forward to that challenge. We seem to play better against the better sides.”

Wales confirmed their quarterfinal match-up with France by topping Pool D after a scrappy 3513 win over Uruguay in Kumamoto yesterday, finishing the group phase unbeaten for the first time since 1987.

France were also unbeaten in Pool C but finished second behind England on bonus points, with their match cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis.

“We’re in a good place and building momentum... it will be a heck of a game,” Gatland said.

However, he said he admitted he was “not too happy” with the high number of turnovers and forward passes which saw his team squander several scoring opportunities against minnows Uruguay.

Wales struggled to a 7-6 lead at half-time and three late tries flattered them slightly.

“The message at half-time was we had a lot of territory and possession and probably forced a little too much,” he said. –

Kumamoto