Gatland happy for Wales to fly under the radar as he plots glory
WARREN Gatland wants Wales to lure England into a false sense of security before a potential Six Nations Championship decider in Cardiff at the end of the month.
The Welsh have not lost in nearly a year now and ticked off their 11th consecutive win in Rome to equal the national record that has stood for 109 years.
But after a shocking first half in Paris and a disjointed 80 minutes against Italy, Wales have been underwhelming despite winning two from two like England,
Gatland is hoping their lack of fluency means Wales are written off for the Principality Stadium clash with England.
‘We have probably helped ourselves a bit by not playing as well as we could have and, as a result, everyone will talk England up,’ he said.
‘Sometimes it’s easier to help motivate yourself, if that happens.
‘I thought the performance against Ireland was the best I have seen from an England team in the last five years. Tactically, they were outstanding.’
All said with a twinkle in the eye, Gatland knows what awaits England in the Welsh capital will be like nothing they have faced so far. And with a long build-up to that massive match, he is sure Wales will be ready.
‘Everyone before the tournament thought the decider might come down to that last game with Ireland,’ he added.
‘But now there are just two of us still in with a chance for a Grand Slam and the Triple Crown, so there will be no lack of motivation. It will be electric in the Principality Stadium and it gives us a chance, being at home.
‘Once you are on a run like this, you don’t want it to go. We have a few things to work on — which is always pleasing —and a couple of really tough weeks of training.’
Precious few new boys in Rome pressed a serious claim to start the England game. Thomas Young fared well on his Championship debut, but is unlikely to win a back-row slot ahead of Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty and Josh Navidi.
Navidi talked up the surfeit of Welsh flankers — their stable of sevens in contrast to England.
‘We’re breeding back-rowers at the moment,’ said Navidi. ‘We could be in England’s position where they are looking for a seven. We have a number coming through in Wales.’
Otherwise, Six Nations starting debutant Aled Davies was ponderous and will surely be replaced by the nippier Gareth Davies, while Leicester’s Jonah Holmes — by his own admission — would have been disappointed not to take his chance.
Dan Biggar did not grasp the No 10 shirt either, despite scoring 14 points. Owen Watkin and Josh Adams scored Wales’ tries, with Edoardo Padovani and Braam Steyn scoring for Italy.
On making 10 changes, Gatland said: ‘If I had it over again, you might question if it was the right thing to do, to make so many changes, but we have done that and got the win.
‘You question if you kept the same team and had a real convincing win, maybe the other question would be why didn’t you use more of the squad when you had the chance to?
‘Hindsight is a great thing. For us to get two away wins is an outstanding start. It was not a great performance today but it is a great start to the tournament.
‘Things are in our own hands, with two home games to come.’
And lock Jake Ball knows Wales owe England one after the way they lost last year, with Gareth Anscombe’s try controversially disallowed in a 12-6 Twickenham defeat.
‘We know it’s going to be one hell of a challenge,’ said Ball. ‘I go back to 2018 at home to England. To lose a game like that was gutting from a personal point of view and I know the boys won’t want to feel like that again.’