WALES READY FOR A SPECIAL START TO THEIR CUP CAMPAIGN
MAKE no bones about it, this has been up there as one of the most difficult weeks of Warren Gatland’s career. In fact, it could very well top the pile.
The Wales boss wouldn’t admit as much in his pre-match press conference in Toyota City on Saturday, but when he was hauled in front of the media for an uncomfortable, unscheduled chat with journalists on Wednesday, the effect the saga had on him was clear to see.
Gatland has built up a personal as well as professional relationship with Rob Howley, whom he coached at Wasps back in 2002. He will have hoped that two years of meticulous preparation for the Rugby World Cup will have seen his group ready for anything and everything. But nothing could have prepared them for this.
Howley finds himself at the centre of an investigation into an alleged breach of World Rugby’s betting rules and has been forced to leave the camp. Incoming attack coach Stephen Jones has already arrived in Japan to replace him.
The news has rocked the whole group, but the management team, in particular, will wrestle with it more than most. However, fears that it will derail the playing group are misplaced. They are on autopilot now.
The gameplan and tactical approach to the Georgia game has been set in stone and drilled for weeks. Howley’s exit will not see that fly out of the window.
It’s a backline that has four British and Irish Lions in its ranks, with quality and experience littered around it.
In fact, this is the oldest starting XV that Wales have ever named at a World Cup, with an average age of 28 years 331 days.
If any squad is capable of dealing with one of the biggest bombshells in Welsh rugby history, it’s this one. Wales have a group of players now that has been years in the making.
“When you get to that sort of stage it’s not a mistake,” said Gatland when considering the experience in his squad.
“When you’re thinking about cycles – and for us it was a couple – in terms of getting players through to a World Cup where you think you can compete and have the right age profile and experience with some quality young players coming through, we think we’re in a pretty good place.
“We’ve got some X-factor and some firepower to come off the bench. We know that when we prepare well and train well and everything is right we’re a tough team to beat and can beat anyone.
“We’re a relatively small nation and have punched above our weight. We’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where we are and achieve what we’ve achieved in the last few years and we need to make sure we go out
and give our best at this World Cup. We want to make sure the people at home in Wales are proud of watching us perform and see we are giving our best.”
Five of the matchday squad to face Georgia were involved in Gatland’s first World Cup in charge of Wales back in 2011, 12 of them in total have World Cup experience.
After the Sam Warburton red card in 2011 and the crippling injury crisis in 2015, the Kiwi and many of the squad may feel they have unfinished
business with the global tournament.
“This is my last one. I am looking forward to it – there was a little bit of edge and niggle at training; to me that’s always a good sign, the players know the game is coming close,” insisted Gatland.
“We can’t wait for Monday night to come along. That niggle at training was good. I said to the players after training ‘We’ve had our warmup games – we’re in competition phase now, and that’s when we thrive’.
“We are Grand Slam champions, had 14 in a row unbeaten and that was because of the way we prepared, mentally how tough we were, our game management, and I thought today there was that edge. Hopefully we will go and deliver a performance on Monday.”
And they must. Wales have not had a better chance to put their painful relationship with the global tournament to bed.
Too much planning, too much preparation, too much blood, sweat and tears have gone into making this Rugby World Cup a Welsh success for it to be undone by the Howley affair.
There is too much quality in this squad and too many caps for the players to let this one pass them by.
You get the impression that the events of the past week have galvanised the squad, narrowed their focus and brought a gritty determination to their minds.
There are whispers that Wales are primed to unleash hell on Georgia. And nothing less will do.
There can be no excuses this time around. Wales have never been more ready to do something special.