And it’s goodnight from me... Gatland ready for the final challenge of his 12-year reign
WARREN Gatland conducted his final pre-game press conference as Wales head coach ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup play-off against New Zealand.
Here’s everything Gatland had to say after Wales’ announced a much changed side to play the All Blacks.
Question: This is your last team announcement, does that feel strange?
Warren Gatland: I have not really thought about it. We have not had a lot of time to think about it.
We are disappointed not to be in the final but playing the All Blacks, we have to pretty excited about that. We have had a couple of days where we needed to reflect on last weekend and then get excited about Friday.
It is a very short turnaround and both teams have made a number of changes and that’s to be expected.
Q: How have you reflected on Sunday and what is to come on Friday?
WG: It has been some experience. I have said on a number of occasions I never thought I would have been in Wales for 12 years. I was lucky enough to have a couple of sabbaticals with the Lions and that was good for me mentally.
I am very privileged to have worked with a group of coaches and backroom staff that have been incredibly close over that period and that has made things so much easier in terms of the synergy and being on the same page.
The players that I have worked with, I have had about three squads over that period and I have worked with some outstanding individuals and some players I have been very lucky to coach.
Lastly I would like to thank the Welsh public. They have been challenging at times but they have made it worthwhile in terms of just how welcoming they have been to me in Wales.
They have been so hospitable and it is really like a second home for me in Wales and I am going to miss being there.
You have to look forward and be excited about the opportunities. One more game and start thinking about the next challenge and being involved in Super Rugby.
Q: You got a little emotional giving your final team talk in Cardiff, what do you envisage this time around?
WG: I had a few tears and that was the last game at the stadium. This is a bit different. This is an end of an era for a lot of people.
We have a management meal tomorrow night which will be our last one together. We want to make sure we enjoy that and hopefully Alan Phillips books a nice restaurant for us.
For a number of players this will probably be their last World Cup game so there are a lot of people involved not just myself.
Players potentially deciding whether they carry on their international careers, a lot of them realise this could be their last World Cup opportunity.
For them they are disappointed not to be in the final but the chance to create little bit of history against the All Blacks.
It has been a long time, 66 years not to beat a side. We have had success against every other nation; the All Blacks have been that elusive team we have not been able to conquer.
There is a lot at stake even though both teams are disappointed they are not involved in the big game. There is definitely something at stake a lot at pride and a victory for us would be pretty special.
Q: This is often seen as a meaningless game, is there anything at stake for either side? WG: I think for both teams. The All Blacks have made seven changes and it’s definitely reflective of players in the squad who haven’t been involved in the 23 and a number of players who are probably wearing the All Black jersey for the last time.
So there will definitely be motivation for them to go out there and perform and play one last time in that black jersey.
Some of them will know it’s the last time so that will be very motivating for them and, for us, we’re in the same boat as well.
Even though we’d rather not be playing the third and fourth play-off, I think on reflection you’ve got to put that behind you and realise there’s quite a bit at stake for a number of players, staff and All Black coaches moving on.
Steve
Hansen’s moving on and there will probably be changes in that set-up so I think it’s an opportunity for us to go out there and give our best and then perhaps reflect afterwards.
The big challenge for us as a group, I’ve been so proud of this group even after the disappointment of Sunday, I was still proud of the effort. We didn’t give up and at 16-16 we had the chance to potentially win that game but it wasn’t to be. But one of the things about this group of players is how much pride they’ve shown in wearing that Welsh jersey.
I think it would be easy for us to be down on ourselves and throw in the towel but I expect these players, over the next 48 hours, to lift themselves and go out there and realise there’s an opportunity for that group to potentially do something special.
Q: Has it been difficult to get a team together for this match? WG: It wasn’t really difficult at all. We didn’t have huge choice in the backs. We did contemplate, after a Sunday, whether we fly out a few players.
But to fly someone out for them to hold bags for a couple of days probably wasn’t the best thing. We wanted to give some players a chance. We feel like Tomos Williams deserves a chance, to see Rhys Patchell at 10 because, going forward, there is Gareth Anscombe’s injury and Dan Biggar is not always available to Wales given his commitments in England. Owen Watkin deserves a chance and then the back three were really the last three standing.
It’s great to see Owen Lane get a chance to play. He was very unlucky not to be in the squad in the first place. We were really impressed with him in that game against Ireland. He’s a great addition to the squad.
Hallam gets a chance at full-back, a position where we potentially see his future.
In the forwards, there are a few changes, a bit of experience.
We realise that this will probably be the last World Cup game for some of the guys.
We recognise that and we’ve just made a couple of changes to freshen the legs as well.
George North and Aaron Wainwright have hamstring injuries, which have ruled them out.
After the game, Leigh Halfpenny had a HIA and with the five-day turnaround, he was unavailable because you need a minimum of six days for that.
He wasn’t under consideration. Then Tomas Francis could have been fit at a push. That shoulder injury thankfully wasn’t as serious as we first thought.
But it’s a bit loose so we didn’t consider him.
It’s a great chance for Dillon Lewis to start at tight-head. Nicky Smith will be disappointed that he hasn’t had a lot of starts or chances. There are a few guys who hopefully want to go out and prove a point that perhaps they should have had more rugby in this tournament.
It’s a good position for them to be in. It’s a position for us to hopefully be positive about the changes in giving players an opportunity.
Q: It looks like Liam Williams has had surgery, what’s the latest on him ?
WG: I think he had surgery yesterday.
I think it will be three months. That surgery takes about that long.
If we’d made the final, he would still be here with us. In fairness to Saracens, they’d agreed that.
But if we weren’t they wanted to get him back for surgery as quickly as possible.
Q: Were you conscious of the fact that last night was your final team selection meeting as a coaching group?
WG: It was different because there was a lot of thought put into it. We wanted to recognise some of the guys who were playing their last World Cup game, but I’ve always been conscious of what is being left behind and there are some young players that particularly for the future need an opportunity to play against the All Blacks in a big game at the World Cup.
We felt it was important we didn’t just think about ourselves and think insular, it was looking at the bigger picture which is what is good for Welsh rugby.
Some of that is about giving players an opportunity to perform on the big stage - the players we see for the future like Tomos Williams, Owen Watkin, Owen Lane and Hallam Amos.
There is Adam Beard and Dillon Lewis too. It’s a big opportunity for them to go and stake a claim and hopefully Welsh rugby will benefit from the experience they get on Friday.
Q: With the way of the modern game, people fear this game puts
players in harms way for the sake of it, do you share those fears? WG: It’s the last game you want to be involved in, but it’s been on the calendar and everyone has known about it.
I think Steve Tew made a joke to Martyn Phillips that both teams should have a boat race and we could settle it that way! I can see the relevance in that!
When you put the disappointment behind you, you think about the chance to play the All Blacks and that gets you excited. Hopefully as coaches we’ve put the disappointment of the last 48 hours behind us and can start getting excited for the next 24.
It’s the same for the group of players. We want to go out, perform well, and be positive about the way we play.
I think the All Blacks will play the same way. Both teams are quite similar in terms of the synergy we are trying to achieve with the selection.
Both of us will want to be positive in the way we want to play.
Q: Eddie Jones seemed to enjoy have a dig at you for your comments on his side after the match?
WG: I was reflecting on the experiences I’ve seen in the past. I was thinking about 2011 and the All Blacks. They had a big game against Australia in the semi-final and they maybe looked at that as their final.
They played France in the final and it was probably a game they thought they could potentially win comfortably. It ended up being a very tight game. It was just observations I’d made of the past.
I thought England were excellent against the All Blacks - it was the best I’ve seen England play in the last 10 years. I thought they were outstanding.
I think it will be a great final with two physical teams and I hope a northern hemisphere team can win the World Cup. It would have been great if two of us could have been in the final, but it wasn’t to be.
I wish them all the best. There are a lot of players there who I’ve been fortunate to have had personal contact with through the Lions and I want to wish them all the best.
Q: Who would help you win a boat race?
WG: Bradley Davies I think. We might have one after the game!
Q: England have been fined for their response to the haka, what do you make of that and have you considered what your response will be?
WG: We haven’t even spoken about the haka. We might do a ‘W’ for Wales! It hasn’t really crossed my mind.
I thought you weren’t allowed to cross the 10 metre line and both teams had to line up there. I didn’t realise the halfway was the mark. The All Blacks do the haka on the 10 metre line and I thought the opposition had to line up there. I think the way teams want to respond to the haka is completely up to them. For them (England) to do something like that is completely respectful as far as I’m concerned. They didn’t turn their backs or anything like that. They stood there and received the haka.
Ireland in Chicago a few years ago did a No 8 in respect for Anthony Foley and other teams have done it in their own way. I was just thankful England didn’t do some Morris dancing. I thought that was a perfect response. I can remember looking back a number of years ago and I was involved with the All Blacks against Ireland and Willie Anderson linked arms with everyone else and they marched forwards.
After the match they were severely criticised by the press for how disrespectful that was. As All Blacks, no one mentioned a thing afterwards.
You can respond in your own way and they were accepting the challenge. That’s what England did. The haka is about standing up and accepting the challenge because the haka is challenging lots of things about you - how tough you are, how physical you are... It’s important you don’t take a backward step and you respond respectfully. I thought England did that.
It would be nice to win in a Welsh jersey. It’s his last game involved as well.
What he’s achieved as a coach is absolutely outstanding in terms of how many times they’ve defended the Bledisloe Cup, the number of championship wins as well, and winning two World Cups - one as an assistant and one as a head coach.
There is no doubt he’ll leave a legacy behind in terms of what he’s achieved as an All Black coach. It’s outstanding.
Very much like me he started in Wales and learned a lot and I’ve learned a lot too from my time as an international coach.
I’m looking forward to my new challenges going forwards and there is no doubt Steve has left a massive impression on New Zealand rugby and he’ll be a big loss.
Q: What has Wales given you and what will be your favourite memory?
WG: I think what Wales have given me is an opportunity and I’ve absolutely loved my time. We’ve been lucky enough to have had a lot of success.
There have been some lows and disappointments, but I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve punched massively above our weight and success as a coach isn’t always about winning - I think it’s about overachieving as a team and I feel we’ve definitely done that.
We’re a very small playing nation with a lot of history and the biggest memory I have is the smile we’ve put back on people’s faces to wear the red jersey again and to support the team.
That makes a massive difference to the whole of Wales as they’re proud of the team and the players wear it with pride. They put in 100% and as a coach that’s all you can ask.