GATLAND STIRRING THINGS UP
Wales are fitter than England We don’t fear Twickenham Eddie’s done nothing special
WHEN he had finished poking the English bear yesterday, Warren Gatland walked downstairs to the team room at Wales’ HQ — laughing all the way.
The Kiwi head coach has been involved in this explosive fixture for a decade now, so he knows the territory and when it is appropriate to engage in the baiting game.
He engaged this time in his briefing at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel. After naming an unchanged starting XV for Saturday’s showdown at Twickenham, Gatland carefully aimed a few darts at the opposition.
All came wrapped in words of praise and respect but the sharp tips were still visible. There was a tribute to his counterpart, Eddie Jones, as Gatland claimed he was ‘learning from him’ and ‘intrigued by watching him’.
When it was mentioned that England’s head coach has his eyes on taking charge of the Lions in South Africa in 2021, Gatland planted his tongue in his cheek and said: ‘He’ll do a great job if he’s Lions coach — 3-0 will be expected. It’s probably the easiest of the three tours, isn’t it?’
He made no secret of his admiration for an England side armed with an ‘absolutely massive’ pack and the ‘ world- class’ Owen Farrell. But Gatland also suggested that Jones has not come in and reinvented the wheel. ‘They are strong at scrum and lineout, with attacking threats as well,’ he said. ‘I don’t see a massive amount of change from what we’ve experienced in the past.’
On his watch, Wales won at Twickenham in 2008 — Gatland’s first game in charge — and again in 2012 before an agonising near miss there two years ago. ‘In the past we’ve felt we’ve been fitter than the English side,’ he said.
‘We’ve had success playing right to the end against them but this time we’ve got to start well and try to contain them as much as we can. If it’s close then hopefully that confidence can boost us.
‘Just go there with confidence and self-belief. That’s the key. And not being intimidated by the Twickenham factor. There are a lot of guys in the squad who will go there with a lot of confidence. We don’t have any fear about going there. We are excited about it.’
He described it as a ‘big brother-little brother’ rivalry, the very terminology used in these pages by Ben Foden in 2011 which brought on a furious response in Cardiff. But Gatland insisted that for all the cross-border antagonism, there is mutual respect too.
Then he went back to baiting the English over the pressure created by their stated aim to be No 1 in the world rankings. ‘You can’t argue with Eddie’s ambition and their record in the past couple of seasons,’ said Gatland. ‘That No 1 ranking has definitely been their target and we’ll know by the autumn (when England finally play New Zealand). That’s going to be interesting. You set yourself up for a big game and then you potentially become No 1 or someone pulls your pants down.’
Wales will seek another triumph at Twickenham long before the All Blacks have the opportunity. Saturday’s encounter will allow visiting openside Josh Navidi to prove he can dominate the breakdown area, as he did against Scotland, in the enforced absence of Sam Warburton. Gatland suggested the challenge to the Cardiff Blues flanker in this key area will come from unexpected quarters.
‘Navidi and the loose forwards being strong over the ball is going to be important for us,’ he said. ‘Ironically, the England threat over the ball isn’t their back-rowers, it’s their front row, with Vunipola and Dan Cole pretty good there.’
That was the last dart. The baiting game was over. Gatland had enjoyed himself. If his Wales team play with the bullish belief demonstrated by their head coach, England could be in trouble.