Warren will mix his teams to beat fatigue

WALES’ final preparations for the 2019 World Cup will see them play four warm-up fixtures, two against Ireland and two with bitter rivals England.

I’ve read a lot this week that four matches is too many, especially after a long season and with a big tournament to come. From Warren Gatland’s perspective, I don’t think there’s a problem at all.

By playing England and Ireland home and away, Wales will get to test themselves against two very good sides which is exactly what Warren will want.

Another key thing is that they won’t have to travel very far to do it which gives the players involved that little bit of extra rest. It could prove vital.

The key thing to take into account here, too, is that there’s no way Wales – or any of the top teams for that matter – will play their firstchoice side in all four of those matches.

I’d imagine Warren may well play four different teams and have a look at the different combinations he’s pondering for Japan.

That’s why criticism of four games is wide of the mark for me. It’s not like someone such as Alun Wyn Jones is going to play a full season, go straight into a summer training camp, then play four warm-up matches ahead of a full World Cup campaign. It simply won’t happen.

You can also add in the fact that Wales’ best players will have their game time managed all season to make sure they’re as fresh as they can possibly be for what’s a huge 18 months.

It will be the same case in Ireland.

If I was English, my concern would be that Eddie Jones’ stars are going to be flat out for more than a year.

It means they could well be knackered by the time the World Cup comes around.