Scots-slayer Gatland now has England in his sights
The message from Warren Gatland could not have been clearer: Wales are not scared of Twickenham.
Within half an hour of blitzing Scotland with a Scarlet siege, the Kiwi had already turned his attention towards Saturday’s trip to face england.
Confidence is high after Wales’ sharpest attacking display in recent seasons, with the returns of George North and Liam Williams set to provide a further boost to morale.
‘It is a mouth-watering fixture now, because I don’t think people were expecting us to win as comfortably as we did,’ said Gatland. ‘People had written us off. There was no expectation. People were saying we were crap and saying we were going to lose.
‘We’ll go from that, to expectations being through the roof next week. I hope a few people sit up and take a bit of notice. It will make next week even more exciting.
‘We’ve had some good performances, results and victories against england. It’s a great ground and if you go there with confidence and self-belief, you hope to get something from it.’
Gatland has fond memories of the return coach journey from London to Cardiff.
Wales have won two of their past five Tests at Twickenham, although it will be uncharted territory for many of the fearless Scarlets who shone on Saturday.
All 34 of Wales’ points were scored by players from the West Walian region, with Leigh halfpenny accounting for 24 points, in a display of newfound ambition and daring offloads.
There were lung-burning periods of ball in play, but Gatland hopes his squad will have a physical edge at Twickenham because of their extra day’s recovery time.
‘Potentially, the six-day turnaround makes a big difference,’ said Gatland.
‘We have a short turnaround later in the competition, between Italy and France. The travel day makes it tough and england will have to monitor what they do next week. For us, it is about recovery and a rest day on Sunday, then focusing on work on Monday.
‘The draw has been great for us. Getting Scotland up first at home was great for us to get off to a winning start. We’re happy to get a bonus-point win ahead of next week, when we go to a venue where we’ve had a lot of success in the last ten years. We’re looking forward to it.’ With Sam Warburton, Toby Faletau, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar, Williams and North all absent, the fresh-faced Rhys Patchell, Aaron Shingler and Steff evans all seized their opportunities.
Now Gatland must decide whether to stick with the youngsters, or twist by recalling his experienced Lions stars for the sterner challenge Wales will face at Twickenham.
‘Liam will take full part in training on Monday and George will, too,’ said Gatland. ‘Those two will come into contention, while we will continue to assess Dan Biggar, who is making good progress.
‘hallam Amos is also fit, so there will be some tough decisions and it’s nice to have that competition in the squad, with some quality players knowing they will have to fight really hard for their position.’