England just the starter as Wales covet All Black scalp

AS Wales and England prepare for their frontline battle at Twickenham, Sir Clive Woodward has emerged as an unlikely peacemaker thanks to his defence of Warren Gatland.

Assistant coach Rob Howley and WRU chairman Gareth Davies both supported Woodward’s Sportsmail claims that Gatland has been unfairly singled out for Wales’ “dull” style.

Riled by the criticism, Howley pointed out that Wales have a 73 percent win record under Gatland in the Six Nations, with three victories against England from their six previous visits to Twickenham.

“Someone is talking sense for a change,” said Howley. ‘”It’s disappointing and frustrating. I played against England seven times, lost six and conceded about 500 points. The expectation in Wales has risen over the last eight years under Warren.

“Unfortunately the players sometimes don’t get the praise they deserve. If we played champagne, Barbarians-style rugby, I’m not sure we would have won all those games. I believe Wales and England are pushing the Six Nations to a higher level.’

Having played alongside the likes of Gerald Davies and JPR Williams in the 1970s, Davies told Sportsmail it is impossible to recreate their free-flowing rugby, urging Gatland, pictured, not to sacrifice results in a bid to play with extra panache.

“It’s a results-driven business now,” said Davies. “I’d rather beat England 3-0 on Saturday than lose 39-38. If you look at Warren’s record, his coaching team have done a tremendous job. You don’t have the fancy runners any more because there’s no space.

“Clive’s right. How many of the players in the 1970s lifted weights? The game’s changed. Players don’t try to avoid tackles like they did in the dinosaur age! Guys like Dan Biggar would be a different class in that era.”

While tension is building ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations decider, Davies is preparing for a round of golf with RFU chairman Bill Beaumont on Friday afternoon. Davies has pledged his support for Beaumont’s bid to become World Rugby chairman, despite going head to head in the famous 1980 “bloodbath” between England and Wales.

“It’s a bit of a fallacy that the English hate the Welsh and the Welsh hate the English,” said Davies. “There were some pretty nasty games between Wales and England during our time as players, but Bill’s a good friend and carries all the qualities to be chairman.”

Davies lost his only Test at Twickenham but, after a 20-year spell without a win between 1988 and 2008, Wales are hoping to continue their impressive run there. Scrumhalf Rhys Webb is back in contention and, with Italy at home on the final weekend, victory over England would surely make Wales odds-on favourites for the championship.

But the Southern Hemisphere powerhouses remain their biggest nemeses, with Davies claiming a summer tour victory over the All Blacks would trump a fourth Six Nations title of the Gatland era.

“We haven’t beaten New Zealand since 1953,” said Davies. “I’d trade beating New Zealand for losing to England. Gone are the days where it’s all about beating England, we need to have a wider perspective than that. A New Zealand scalp would be the highlight of 2016.”

Gatland is also likely to lead the Lions tour of New Zealand in 2017. The head coach would need to take a sabbatical and – with the Kiwi’s WRU contract expiring in 2019 – Davies believes it will be an ideal opportunity to begin succession planning.

“Maybe we’ll promote someone or maybe we’ll bring someone else in,” said Davies. “It’s early days to start planning for 2019. Rob did the job last time and won the championship. If he assumes the head coach role in 2017, it could be a great trial.” – Daily Mail