The Gatland Q&A: Sam, clock is ticking on squad
WARREN Gatland was grilled on the chances of captain Sam Warburton being selected for the first Test against New Zealand after announcing his squad to face the Maori tomorrow.
Warburton is benched with Irishman Sean O’Brien preferred at openside flanker.
The impression is that it is O’Brien who is ahead in the pecking order as things stand, but Gatland priased Warburton’s contribution to the tour regardless of who he sends out against the All Blacks.
Here are the best bits of the Kiwi’s press conference in Rotorua as Gatland tackled subjects including .... WARBURTON “It’s important for him, I thought that he got a run out against the Highlanders.
“I thought he was good for a long period of the game.
“Sean hasn’t had a lot of rugby either. So they’ll both get game time and Sam gets another chance on Saturday night to come on and perform.
“He’s well aware of the competition that is there at the moment.
“He fully understands that that loose forward trio went outstandingly well against the Crusaders.
“One of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player but also, this tour isn’t about Sam Warburton it’s about putting the squad first.
“And so if he’s not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night he will fully understand that.
“But he’ll get some game time and some opportunity to keep improving his match fitness because he hasn’t had a lot of rugby in recent weeks. THE IMPORTANCE OF WARBURTON’S CHARACTER “It’s hugely helpful. There’s some strong individuals in here, and guys are having a few laughs and a bit of fun.
“The backs weren’t too happy after training this morning. The forwards had finished before them and had tied all their shoelaces together. Everyone’s pointing the finger at Mako Vunipola!
“You want individuals, and sometimes guys will be disappointed, one or two may feel they haven’t had a chance.
“That’s the hardest thing about going on tour. But it’s how you deal with that.
“We want people disappointed if they are not selected, but it’s then how you deal with that, and how you respond.
You’ve got to put that behind you, and be a positive influence and positive character around the squad.
“So far we’ve seen that. WHETHER O’BRIEN HAS HIS NOSE IN FRONT OF THE WELSHMAN “No. We recognise that loose forward trio went really well on Saturday.
“The challenge for them is to repeat it. And if they do it again, we’ll make what we think is the right selection for the Test match. THE SQUAD’S STRENGTH “Sam will come off the bench, CJ (Stander) did well coming off the bench too and has had quite a lot of rugby.
“Some others are being rested and are being kept for part of the 23 for the first Test as well, because some of them have had a lot of rugby and need recovery time.
“We’re just trying to mix and match and think two steps ahead.
“There’s a little bit of juggling going on at the moment. WHERE O’BRIEN WILL BE UTILISED, OPENSIDE OR BLINDSIDE? “We can speak about the possibility.
“There was a nice balance between that loose-forward trio the other day (against the Crusaders). We put the Crusaders lineout under some pressure. “One strength has been the lineout. “We know Peter’s (O’Mahoney) exceptional there, whether in attack or defence.
“Toby’s (Faletau) obviously very good in the air too at lineout time.
“We’ve got plenty of variation, a lot of pace int aht back-row.
“We saw SOB chase down Richie Mo’unga the other night.
“And at training the next day I saw Toby Faletau run away from SOB.” THE ITOJE AND KRUIS LOCK COMBINATION “I thought Maro made a significant impact off the bench that night.
“Again it’s building on last week’s game, it’s a massive challenge.
“You know that another significant performance against the Maori gives you a chance to be a part of that first Test match.” JONATHAN SEXTON’S PROSPECTS “Johnny needs more rugby and we’re building on that.
“He was really good off the bench the other day and the combination of 10 and 12 was pretty seamless.
“He was just down a little on confidence but he’s got a bit of his mojo back, and we wanted to give him a start against the Maori.” WHERE LEIGH HALFPENNY STANDS “It’s an opportunity as well for him to show what experience he has got.
“His counter-attacking and scoring tries has improved significantly, that’s kind of what we need from a 15.
“We know how strong he is defensively, but it’s the attacking threat we’re looking for him to add to us on Saturday.” THE MUNSTER ‘MONGREL’ OF CAPTAIN FOR THE NIGHT PETER O’MAHONY