Gatland glad as Wales left with a shot at second place
CARDIFF, United Kingdom: Warren Gatland heads into the final round of the Six Nations something of a relieved man after Wales gave themselves a shot at finishing second in this season’s Championship.
The Wales coach saw his decision to make 10 changes to his starting side rewarded with a 38-14, bonuspoint win over Italy in Cardiff on Sunday.
Had Wales failed to beat the struggling Azzurri, after successive defeats by England and Ireland, the New Zealander would have faced an uncomfortable few days leading up to Saturday’s home finale against a resurgent France, for all he might have learnt some valuable lessons regarding squad depth ahead of next year’s World Cup. But instead Wales will kick off knowing another bonus-point win over Les Bleus will assure them of the runnersup spot behind alreadycrowned champions Ireland.
Wales enjoyed several sparkling moments while running in five tries during their 12th consecutive victory over Italy but, unsurprisingly given so many new combinations, errors also crept into their game. “It was a job done, it’s what we wanted,” Gatland said after a match where Wales wing George North bagged a try double, with Hadleigh Parkes, Cory Hill and Justin Tip uric also crossing Italy’s line.
“We’ve got a six-day turnaround and we’ve given players an opportunity,” the twice British and Irish Lions boss explained.
“To make 10 changes, score the points we did, and win comfortably was the pleasing aspect.”
Former Ireland coach Gatland added: “At times we looked absolutely outstanding and great, and at other times we lacked cohesion.
“That’s probably to be expected when guys have not played together.
“But we achieved what we wanted to do, to get a bonus point and have our destiny in our own hands next week to finish second in the Championship.”
Wales won on Sunday despite being reduced to 13 men early in the second half. Liam Williams was shown a yellow card just before the break for a high tackle on opposing fullback Matteo Minozzi, while scrum-half Gareth Davies followed him into the sin-bin soon after the interval for a deliberate knock- on. Williams’ temporary exclusion was met by a chorus of boos from a crowd of over 65,000, but Gatland had no complaints about the decision of French referee Jerome Garces. — AFP