WILL GATLAND BE ABLE TO INSPIRE ANOTHER WELSH TITLE CHALLENGE?
ANOTHER Six Nations, another examination of whether Wales can restore former tournament glory under Warren Gatland. The Grand Slams of 2008 and 2012, and the title win of 2013, seem a long time ago now, especially given the fallow nature of the intervening years.
But hope springs eternal, especially when you have a coach and a playing roster that has proved it can deliver on so many occasions. Wales are at home to Scotland, France and Italy, away to England and Ireland. A three-two win-defeat return based on home advantage is therefore the likeliest outcome. Gatland has said he wants to end his Wales tenure with a bang. He’ll need to engineer a win in either London or Dublin to stay on track for that. COACH: WARREN GATLAND THE Kiwi has a CV to trump any of his Six Nations counterparts, but he’s been in charge of Wales now for a decade and is therefore facing accusations of staleness. Wins are the only adequate riposte to those accusations. CAPTAIN: ALUN WYN JONES WITH Sam Warburton out of the tournament injured, the Ospreys second row talisman is a more-than-suit able replacement. An experienced and inspirational leader by example. KEY MAN: OWEN WILLIAMS AS Wales’ ballplaying 12 he is at the fulcrum of their attempts to re-invent themselves. The Gloucester man showed encour- aging signs in the autumn, but this is another level entirely. ROOKIE TO WATCH: JOSH ADAMS UNCAPPED and in blistering form for his club Worcester. Injuries to George North and Liam Williams may get him a starting chance and if he does play then it will be fascinating to see whether he can deliver at Test level. STRENGTHS WALES have a solid set-piece, so that should give them a platform to build upon. They also have a defensive operation that is tried and tested and usually near watertight under the stewardship of Shaun Edwards. Wales do not concede many cheap points. AREAS TO TARGET THE breakdown. Even with Warburton and Taulupe Faletau injured Wales have serious strength in depth in the back row with the likes of Ross Moriarty, Justin Tipuric, James Davies and Aaron Shingler. They should make winning the battle for the ball in the contact area their trademark. On that score, it will be fascinating to see what, if any, part Davies plays. KEY INJURIES WHERE to start? Jonathan Davies, Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate, Rhys Priestland, Jake Ball and Rhys Webb are all out of the tournament. Taulupe Faletau will miss the opening two games, while Dan Biggar and Liam Williams could also miss the whole thing. It’s a real list of walking wounded and the absences will be keenly felt. LAST TIME OUT WALES flopped. They finished fifth in the table after wins against Italy and Ireland and defeats to Scotland, France and England. The Irish win was superb and they should have beaten England, but there was little else. ORDER OF GAMES Scotland (h), England (a), Ireland (a), Italy (h), France (h). WHAT THE COACH SAYS “WE have selected a larger squad and it is an opportunity for us to work with a wider group and continue building for the next 18 months to the World Cup.” WHAT MOOD ARE THE FANS IN? THERE is a degree of eternal optmism, but there is also much frustration and a feeling that Wales have underachieved in the last four years. POINT TO PROVE: GARETH DAVIES IN the absence of Rhys Webb, it is up to the livewire Scarlets scrum-half to make himself the number one Wales No.9 when Webb departs for Toulon next season and falls victim to the 60-cap rule. DID YOU KNOW? WALES need 16 points against Scotland to pass the 2000 mark since the Six Nations began in 2000. England lead the way with 2,350 points to their name. BOOKIES PREDICTION WALES are 66-1 with most bookmakers to win the Grand Slam, 16-1 to win the title, 33-1 for the Triple Crown. WHAT WE SAY WALES will win their home games, but lose the two away ones and finish third or fourth.