It’s good to talk, Gatland assures Patchell

WALES boss Warren Gatland has explained how he went about rebuilding the confidence of Rhys Patchell.

The Scarlets pivot endured a particularly rough 2018/19 season as two concussion injuries kept him sidelined for large parts. As a result, his form dipped and he finished the season coming off the bench for the Scarlets, despite the fact their race to get into the European Champions Cup went down to the wire.

This came after a stellar summer tour last year, during which he orchestrated two convincing wins over Argentina and returned as a real challenger for the No.10 jersey.

But a difficult season followed. So it was good to see Patchell playing with a belief in his own ability last weekend as he took his 40-minute chance to make Gatland’s final 31-man Rugby World Cup squad.

The knee injury suffered by Gareth Anscombe opened the door for Patchell, and he walked straight through it.

“He was very good. It’s just talking to him and telling him to be relaxed,” said Gatland.

“You’re here because you’re good enough to deliver at this level. Obviously he was down on confidence coming in. There’s no doubt that probably unfortunately when Gareth Anscombe got injured there was a realisation for Rhys and Jarrod (Evans) that ‘I’ve got a chance here.’

“If they were honest with themselves they probably thought that both Gareth and Dan were shoo-ins if we were only taking two 10s. It was going to be difficult for them to get selected.”

The return to confidence has come as a result of constant encouragement for Patchell to continue being himself, despite the easier option being to retreat.

The Wales boss added: “He’s articulate, he’s confident when he speaks to the group and he’s not afraid to voice an opinion.

“He showed last week that there was maturity there in the way he controlled it and the feedback I got from some of the older players was just how vocal he was on the field.”