Wales are favourites now says artful Eddie
WARREN Gatland saw Wales climb to the summit of World Rugby’s rankings for the first time, but then warned his team they must be No. 1 in Japan to achieve superstar status.
Wales’ 13-6 World Cup warm-up victory over England at a raucous Principality Stadium saw them officially overtake New Zealand as the best side on the planet.
A try from George North and the boot of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny did the damage for Wales as they atoned for their defeat by England at Twickenham last time out.
On seeing his team reach No. 1, Gatland said: “It’s just a number, isn’t it? It’s a nice accolade to have, but it’s all about the next few months and backing it up at the World Cup.
“We’ve got a couple of games against Ireland to go as well. It’s nice for a day, but we won’t be shouting from the rooftops about it.
“Lots of journalists will be out there saying “this is a joke” and they’ll probably be Kiwi journalists more than anything! We’re not making a big fuss of it and we’ve got to keep things in perspective.”
Gatland added: “We had to turn up mentally. We were playing England so we had to get ourselves right after losing last week. The boys knew how psychologically important it was.
“If we had lost to England here then potentially that has an impact if we are meeting them in a World Cup quarter-final.”
England head coach Eddie Jones heaped the pressure on Wales after his side’s defeat, but still insisted the Red Rose are heading in the right direction. “Wales are favourites for the World Cup now. When you go to No.1, you’re favourites,” he said.
Jones then added: “I thought it was a brilliant World Cup game for us. We deliberately started with a young team and it’s always a difficult game when you play Wales at Principality Stadium.
“The crowd is loud and the referee gets affected by the crowd, so it’s a difficult game. I thought they stuck in there very well and then we gave some of the more experienced guys a run in the last 20 minutes and they came home strong. The result is the result, but for us it’s a big step forward.”
Wales led 10-0 at the break thanks to North’s 38th Test try which followed two expert crosskicks from man of the match Biggar.
The Wales fly-half – who stepped in for the injured Gareth Anscombe – produced an inspired display and converted North’s effort and an earlier penalty. Biggar’s opposite number George Ford got
England back into the match with two quick second-half penalties, but Wales sealed victory thanks to a late Halfpenny penalty. England weren’t helped by a first-half yellow card for Anthony Watson for a deliberate knock-on. Biggar was deservedly named the game’s standout performer in the same week he had been the target for strong criticism from JJ Williams. Wales and British & Irish Lions legend Williams had said Gatland’s men would have no chance of winning the World Cup with Biggar guiding the ship. “We’re obviously delighted to get the win. I think it was a huge defensive effort and we created some good stuff,” Biggar said. “We’re really pleased to get over the line and a special thanks to JJ Williams for his comments this week. “The forwards were superb all day. England’s strength is their set piece and driving line-outs. “There is plenty still to work on, but we are glad to get the monkey off our back from last week and hopefully we can improve going into the two Ireland games.” England captain Ford said: “We took another step forward. We wanted to back up our energy, intensity, and commitment. “I thought we did that out there, but we have to be better at executing at crucial times and our discipline needs to be better. I’m proud of the boys’ efforts. “We’re still building and it’s a four-game process. Our aim is to be ready to go by the time we get on that flight to Japan.” Wales confirmed knocks to Liam Williams (hamstring), Aaron Wainwright and Jake Ball (dead legs), James Davies (concussion), Gareth Davies (hip) and Biggar (shoulder and groin) weren’t serious. England reported a clean bill of health with Ruaridh McConnochie – who was a late withdrawal from the game with a hamstring injury – out for seven to 10 days. Sam Underhill, Tom Curry and Mark Wilson are all close to a return.