SA showdown will ... it’s winner takes
WALES coach Warren Gatland has revealed the reasons behind his team selection to face South Africa as they look to secure a maiden autumn clean sweep.
Gatland has named a virtually unchanged side to the one that secured a first victory over Australia in a decade, with Liam Williams coming in for the injured Leigh Halfpenny at full-back.
While the selection of Liam Williams seems obvious on paper, his last three outings in the 15 jersey for Wales have been in much-changed teams against Japan, Georgia and Italy – meaning his opportunities to impress in his favoured position have sometimes been hindered.
And Gatland revealed that was a large reason for giving Williams, who did start all three Tests at fullback for the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand last year under Gatland, another run in the Welsh 15 jersey.
“We’ve rewarded the team that did pretty well against Australia,” explained Gatland.
“Liam hasn’t had a lot of time at full-back in the last year so we’re giv- ing him a chance at full-back without making too many changes.
“Owen Watkin gets the chance to come onto the bench.”
Gatland wasn’t tempted to select Gareth Anscombe at 15 to allow him to pick Dan Biggar at fly-half – which would have seen him get two of the three fly-halves hotly contesting the No.10 battle start.
Instead, he chose to reward Anscombe for two impressive outings at the start of the autumn campaign – even if that means upsetting some of his other squad members.
“It’s tough, players are disappointed not to be involved. It’s a Catch-22 situation, you reward a player who’s done quite well and taken his chance, but then you get the knock on the door from players who want to know why they have been dropped.
“We’re in sort of both of those situations at the moment. We’ve spoken to players who have gone back to their clubs and we’re really happy with what they have done.
“It is a nice position to be in this competition and the positive thing is it creates debate as well.
“Players are disappointed and I expect them to be, but they’ve responded well.
“Players are really fighting for the position and those who get the chance, they know there’s a lot of pressure on them too.”
After rewarding 6ft 10in lock Adam Beard with a third start in a row, Gatland also admitted he is looking to build depth in the second-row in case one of his senior locks breaks down through injury.
The New Zealander also pointed to Cory Hill and Seb Davies as the young talent who they will continue to blood in the second-row – despite the latter being used mainly as a utility forward covering No.8 in recent outings for his country.
“I want people to be aware, we are thinking about next 12 months,” said Gatland.
“Bradley Davies is out with a knee injury, Jake Ball has been hit with quite a lot of injuries in the last 12 months, we could potentially go with someone like Luke Charteris, who has also had injuries.
“For me, it is making sure we give a youngster some experience over the next few months, so come World Cup, if we had Bradley Davies, Jake Ball or Alun Wyn Jones out, then you know you have players who have experience.
“Cory Hill has done a good job, Adam Beard has had some good experience and then you’re looking at a Seb Davies or maybe someone else as well.
“We are conscious that it is a key position and it is about giving someone experience and game time because we have picked up injuries there in the past.”
Such is the strength in depth and the current eight-game winning run, Gatland admits that the “job is easy for us as coaches at the moment because there is a lot of motivation in the squad with players wanting to do well and fight hard for their jersey.”
A ninth consecutive victory for Wales would complete a first-ever autumn clean sweep – and would also be Wales’ fifth victory over the Springboks in six attempts.
Gatland admits that, while “it’s always nice to achieve milestones”, the maturity of the current Wales squad is the most pleasing aspect.
“The way the players have trained at the moment, I haven’t seen this level of maturity in a group of players,” he explained.
“We’re calm. Our composure in games has been outstanding. Even last week we found ourselves in a bit of a hole and managed to work our way out of it.
“In the past, that has compounded us. But there is some real maturity in this group and they’re calm. You can see they’re motivated as well.”
However, Gatland is under no illusions of the test Wales will face in a resurgent South African side.
“They have reclaimed some of their old identity and what they’re about,” explained Gatland. “That’s why you always respect them for what they are.
“We are expecting a very tough, physical encounter and the players are excited about it.
“It’s the end of a campaign, like a cup game. Winner takes all.”