Forget loyalty bonus, I’m focused onWorld Cup bid
Warren Gatland has insisted Wales CAN win the 2019 World Cup, and stressed he is as committed and excited about leading the national team as he has ever been.
The New Zealander faced the media at Wales’ first briefing of the autumn campaign, with the opening fixture against Australia on Saturday week.
Gatland was bullish about the progress Wales can make in his final two years in command.
He also insisted the loyalty bonus he is due to receive for seeing out his contract – which he revealed in an interview with a Sunday newspaper to promote his upcoming diary of the Lions tour – is not a motivating force.
Gatland said: “I’m really excited about the next two years, the planning and the countdown (to the World Cup).
“I’m excited about the group of players. I’m committed to Wales and I need to re-iterate that. Six months ago, and I don’t know where it came from, there was speculation that I would do the Lions and wouldn’t be coming back.
“You are away for 12 months, concentrating on the Lions but when you come back here your focus is on winning the World Cup.
“I need to stress that we can win the World Cup.
“We know we have to stay healthy and not pick up too many injuries but what’s exciting about this group of players is their age-profile and their experience. We go into the World Cup campaign with some real experience, some fantastic young and a good balance.
“Apart from New Zealand, traditionally World Cups are won by teams with an age-profile of late 20s early 30s and that’s exactly what we will be.” Gatland was adamant that talking about the loyalty fee was just him being ‘honest.’
He added: “When someone says have you been in the job too long, you say ‘I don’t know, possibly’.
“Things get reported as though you’ve called the press conference. You ask me the questions and then its gets spun like I’ve said it.
“It’s not the motivation for being there.”
Warren Gatland appeared to be on something of a charm offensive as he faced the media at Wales HQ on Tuesday.
Journalists were not expecting to see him because at this stage of autumn preparation in the past it has always been one of his assistants who has faced questions.
But it soon became apparent that Gatland had a message to get across in the wake of an interview he gave to the Mail on Sunday at the weekend to publicise his upcoming diary of the Lions tour.
In the interview, Gatland mentioned a loyalty bonus he will collect if he stays until 2019 and also said people were ‘dumb’ to have praised a perceived change in style by Wales last year when, in truth, there had been no change. He also re-ignited the furore with Sean O’Brien and did a U-turn on his potential availability to lead the Lions again in South Africa in 2021.
On the loyalty bonus, Gatland admitted ‘perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it’. But by then he had already shifted most of the blame onto the media, saying his comments had been ‘spun around’.
This is everything that was said at the press session... Q: Is everybody fit and well? A: We’ve got Rob Evans and Samson Lee coming back into training and Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric hopefully back next week training.
We’re just waiting on Tyler Morgan who has a high ankle sprain so he’s having a scan on that and seeing a surgeon just to see whether he needs further treatment.
Apart from that, we’re pretty good. Q: What can you say about the link-up with England in terms of the training session? A: It originated out of a conversation I had about three or four weeks ago with Steve Borthwick (England forwards coach).
He said ‘I’m just floating the idea, would you be interested in doing a training session and meeting us halfway?”
I said it sounded good and I spoke to Robin McBryde about it. Steve said he needed to check with Eddie and then came back and said it’s all good.
It’s something, given our proximity, that is a great idea.
We’ll go and train in Bristol on Monday and we’re looking forward to it. Q: Do you have to balance the benefits with the risk of injury? A: I think it will be well managed. We’re doing some lineouts, I don’t think we’re doing any mauling, and then we’re going to have a scrummaging session making sure it’s controlled.
Both sets of forwards need to get out of it as much as possible.
I don’t know why we didn’t think of this earlier, I don’t know whether it’s been done in the past.
It will give us a good feel of where we are at and hopefully be good preparation for the Australia game. Q: How much of the team for the first Test against Australia is clear in your head already? A: We haven’t spoken about that. I had a chat with Rob Howley today about the 10-12 combination and what that’s likely to be and so we’ll see how the rest of the week goes.
We will try to let the players know reasonably early what the side’s going to be so they get as much preparation as they possibly can. Q: How are you feeling personally about the next two years? A: I’m really excited about the next two years, the planning and the countdown (to the World Cup).
I’m excited about the group of players that have come through.
When the players came in yesterday they were excited picking up their kit likes kids in a sweetshop.
You always get a kick out of that because it reminds you what you once played the game for, everyone loves a bit of kit and a bit of stash. Q: Are you as positive as ever about Wales going through to the next World Cup? A: Absolutely. I’m committed to Wales and I need to re-iterate that. Six months ago, and I don’t know where it came from, there was speculation that I would do the Lions and wouldn’t be coming back.
You are away for 12 months, concentrating on the Lions but when you come back here your focus is on winning the World Cup.
I need to stress that we can win the World Cup.
We know we have to stay healthy and not pick up too many injuries but what’s exciting about this group of players is their age-profile and their experience.
We should go into the World Cup campaign with some real experience, some fantastic youngsters and a good balance.
Apart from New Zealand, traditionally World Cups are won by teams with an age-profile of late 20s early 30s and that’s exactly what we will be. Q: Could you clarify what you meant by referencing a loyalty bonus for staying on until 2019 in an interview at the weekend? A: When someone says have you been in the job too long, you say ‘I don’t know, possibly’. Things get reported as