Issues on Gatland’s to-do list ahead of England encounter
THE Guinness Six Nations table may show Wales in second place, sitting pretty with two wins from two matches, but Warren Gatland has made it crystal clear that improvements are needed before his side take on England.
“Having two weeks together will be good for this group of players but we have a few things to work on, which is always pleasing - and a couple of really tough weeks of training,” said the New Zealander in the wake of Saturday’s unconvincing 26-15 victory over Italy in Rome.
For sure, it will be difficult to ignore the outside noise that will dominate the build-up to a game many see as a title decider.
But for Gatland, his focus will be on the training field and shoring up the issues that have emerged from the games against France and Italy.
Here, we look at what will be at the top of his to-do list over the coming days.
SORTING OUT THE WELSH LINE-OUT
It is an area that has blighted Wales’ game in the opening two rounds.
Against France, Wales lost three on their own throw and four against Italy and are running at a success rate of 65% – the worst in the tournament and a figure well below the standards desired for international rugby.
Forwards coach Robin McBryde, though, will feel the problem doesn’t run deep.
With the same personnel involved in the autumn clean sweep, Wales lost just two of their own throws throughout the four-match campaign and enjoyed a 100% record against Scotland, Tonga and South Africa.
But they clearly can’t afford to be as inaccurate as they have been so far.
England’s engine room pairing of George Kruis and Courtney Lawes (assuming Maro Itoje doesn’t make a miraculous recovery from his knee injury) are two towering campaigners.
Kruis, in particular, considered one of the best line-out operators in northern hemisphere rugby.
England forwards coach Steve Borthwick – Gatland’s assistant on the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand – enjoyed a similar reputation in his playing days.
Losing crucial line-outs can be a momentum killer in games and stats have shown that although you rarely see more than two or three steals in a game, it can cause sides huge problems in dealing with the unexpected.
The return to the starting line-up of the experienced Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric should help Wales to tighten up their set-piece.
But from the way Gatland was talking in the aftermath of the clash at the Stadio Olimpico, there will be plenty of line-out drills on the training schedule at the Vale Resort this week.
TIME TO CHOOSE THE BEST HALF-BACK COMBINATION
Two matches in and already the tournament is breaking records on the amount of words generated by the great Welsh fly-half debate.
The concern is, there is no sign of it ending.
Seven months out from the Rugby World Cup in Japan, Welsh supporters are none the wiser about who their best half-back combination is.
Gareth Anscombe and Dan Biggar have both been tried at No.10 in the opening rounds, with both enjoying more success off the bench than in the starting jersey. You also can’t rule out Rhys Patchell coming back into the frame.
The same conundrum applies to the No.9 shirt
Since the exile of Rhys Webb, Gareth Davies has been seen as Gatland’s first-choice scrum-half, but he is yet to start in this year’s Championship with Tomos Williams and Aled Davies taking the field to start in Paris and Rome in the opening two games.
It will take a brave man to bet on who will get the nod for England.
REDISCOVER SOME FLUENCY IN ATTACK
One of the big frustrations at the Stadio Olimpico was the sight of scrum-half Aled Davies having to forage into rucks to dig out the ball.
As a result, Wales’ attacking game stuttered and the lack of quick ball stunted any sort of fluency.
There have been flashes of creative spark – Liam Williams slicing open France; quick hands freeing Josh Adams for the opening try in Rome and then that disallowed Thomas Young score in the dying seconds last weekend.
But so far, Wales have flattered to deceive in attack.
Gatland will have been frustrated by the amount of handling errors and laboured passes he has seen in the opening two rounds.
But if Wales are to flourish with ball in hand, they need front-foot ball and that goes back to the whole slow possession issue.
The Welsh carriers need to win the collisions and if the English predators are pushed back on their heels in defence, that’s a big battle won. BE MORE CLINICAL
Wales have touched down on nine occasions so far in the Championship, but only five of those have counted.
Firstly, you had Liam Williams failing to finish off his superb break in Paris, then Ross Moriarty’s score was disallowed for a bit of blocking by Alun Wyn Jones.
In Rome, Jonathan Davies was adjudged to have knocked on in the corner gathering a loose ball and Thomas Young’s debut try for his country was chalked off for a forward pass in the build-up.
Opportunities will be at a premium when Eddie Jones and his England team roll into the Welsh capital – Wales cannot afford to be as wasteful as they have been in the opening matches.