‘GROWN-UP’ WALES SHOW THEIR SPIRIT

HERE’S every word Wales boss Warren Gatland had to say after Wales’ stunning win over Australia in the Rugby World Cup. QUESTION: WARREN, GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS GAME, WAS THAT UP THERE WITH ONE OF THE BEST WINS YOU’VE EVER HAD? WARREN GATLAND: It was a really tough match. We played pretty well in the first half and spoke at half time about making sure we continued to play.

Australia were really good in the second half. They put us under a lot of pressure and had a lot of ball.

It was a typical Wales Australia clash. It went right to the wire.

I thought our players showed some great composure. The bench gave us some impact as well and to win that was very pleasing.

It means that the pool is in our own hands.

Q: YOU KICKED TWO DROP KICKS, WERE YOU USING THIS AS A DRY RUN FOR THE KNOCKOUT STAGE? WG: It was just about winning. That’s how important it was. It wasn’t about the knockout stages, we just wanted to win the match and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

That was pleasing.

The way the game is now with defences, from 15 to 20 metres out it’s hard to break teams down.

It’s a lot easier from four or five metres out.

Dan just took the opportunity to take three points and get the scoreboard ticking over as Rhys Patchell did as well.

Q: WHAT DOES A WIN LIKE THAT SAY ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF YOUR TEAM?

WG: I think this is a squad that has grown up in terms of their game management.

That’s improved significantly.

It was good in the autumn last year and particularly in the Six Nations.

We’d learned a lot from those experiences in terms of guys coming off the bench and we showed some real character.

We were under a lot of pressure in that second half. There were some key turnovers that we got towards the end of the game.

It was pleasing. For us, it was a challenge with the six-day turnaround and Georgia wasn’t an easy encounter. Even though we were under a lot of pressure in that second half, I thought our composure and our fitness levels were really good.

We soaked up a lot of pressure.

Q: AUSTRALIA CAME OUT STRONGLY IN THE SECOND HALF, HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHEN TO RELEASE THE BENCH?

WG: You’re looking at some of the players and their body language, when are they starting to hurt? They’ve given so much physically. Some players we want to change quite early, particularly the front rowers.

With other players, you spend a lot more time to make that decision because of their experience. There were a couple forced on us. You’re just trying to get a feel for when is the right time to bring fresh legs on.

I was really pleased with that today. There’s no magic formula. It’s a little bit of luck sometimes.

Q: HOW IS DAN BIGGAR AND WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT HIM THAT HE PULLED PATCHELL ASIDE AT HALF TIME TO ENCOURAGE HIM? WG: He failed a HIA and we have to make sure he goes through those protocols.

He’s said he’s feeling good but we’ve got to make sure we go through those protocols in the next week.

He was disappointed to come off but I thought it was brilliant, the way he encouraged Rhys and it was important for him as well.

I thought Rhys came on and did a fantastic job for us. His defence has been criticised a lot in the past. We changed a few things in the way he defends. I thought his linespeed was excellent and he made a few big tackles for us.

He controlled the game pretty well. There are some things we want him to continue to work on in terms of bossing it out there a little bit more. But it was a big match, he came on early and get a win. I think he’ll get a lot of confidence from that.

Q: ON A SIMILAR THEME, LIAM WILLIAMS WAS HOBBLING QUITE BADLY, HOW IS HE?

WG: Liam rolled his ankle but he should be okay.

There are some sore bodies there and have said that, with the short turnaround, it was one of the toughest Test matches they’ve played in a long time.

We’ll need to make sure we recover. We’ve got nine or 10 days until our next match.

We need to use that in the best way we possibly can to freshen up the guys and make sure we a little time.

It’s nice to have a decent break before our next match against Fiji.

Q: WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF