Wales
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Wales
France 19-24 Wales
Italy 15-26 Wales
In the first half against France, Wales appeared to be heading
for defeat but they showed their character to come back and
claim the victory. Going to France first up was never going to
be easy as Ireland found in last year’s tournament and winning
the game sets Wales up for a successful year.
Warren Gatland took the opportunity to change things around
against Italy and whilst the performance wasn’t great, Gatland
will have learned a lot more about some of his players with the
added benefit of keeping some of his first XV fresh.
Next up it will be a clash against the other unbeaten side,
England, who will have to prove that they can keep up
their recent level of performance. Wales’ pack looked
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formidable standing up to the French and they will look to
prove that they are the best group in the Northern Hemisphere
over the coming weeks. If they come out on top then Wales
may well be celebrating a title.
That wouldn’t be a surprise either as while first England, then
Ireland and now England again have stolen the headlines
Wales have been going quietly about their business. Last year
saw them beat South Africa, Argentina and Australia to ensure
they are on a growing winning run and confidence in the camp
is clearly high.
Speaking after the Italy game Warren Gatland said, “We have
probably helped ourselves a little bit by not playing as well as
we could have against Italy. As a result everyone will start
talking England up.”
“Sometimes it’s easier to help motivate yourself if
that does happen. I thought the performance against
Ireland was the best I have seen from an England team
in the last five years.
“Tactically, they were outstanding. Before the
start of the tournament everyone thought the
decider might come down to that last game
with Ireland but obviously now there are
just two of us still in with the chance for a
grand slam.
“There will be no lack of motivation
and it will be electric in the Principality
Stadium. Once you are on a run like this
you don’t want it to go.
“The nice thing is we have two weeks
together in the build-up to the match and
we are excited about it. It will be good for
this group of players, but we have a few
things to work on.”
Not everyone is a big fan of Warren
Gatland but his CV continues to develop
and his results continue to impress. He is not
perfect (nor is any other coach!) but his many
strengths are consistently overlooked; if Wales
continue to win matches then they will go into
the biggest stage of them all with plenty of
momentum. Success at the World Cup will be
one that nobody in rugby can overlook.