Biggest game for a long, long time: Gatland

This weekend see’s two of rugby’s oldest foes go head to head in the Rugby World Cup. England play host to neighbours Wales in their second Pool A match at Twickenham on Saturday as both sides look to secure top spot in the pool.

As the teams were announced yesterday, it seems England threw the Welsh management by selecting a combination of Owen Farrell, Sam Burgess and Brad Barritt at 10, 12, 13.

“Yes it threw us,” said Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland at his team’s press conference at the London Irish training ground on Thursday.

“We are expecting the same 10, 12, 13 so we have had to change our direction a bit as we were preparing for another side”.

The match sees Burgess start for just the second time in an England jersey, and whilst some critics are seeing this as a weakness in the English side due to his inexperience at Union, Gatland was quick to state this is no the case.

“He is a world class player, but we are just excited about Saturday, they are a quality team with a lot of strength in depth.

“It doesn’t surprise me he has been selected,” said Wales Captain Sam Warburton.

“To have a player like him in your squad, you are going to use him, he is a big game player.”

Both Warburton and Gatland were keen to stress the importance of the game, Gatland seeing it as his side’s biggest game in recent times.

“It is a massive encounter,” said the Wales Head Coach. “Lets just hope it is a great game.

“There is a lot of respect from both sides, I just hope the best team playing the best rugby wins and it doesn’t come down to a controversial decision.

“This is – for us as a nation, the biggest game we’ve had in a long, long time.

“With England you have to bring physicality, they have the ability to play tight or go wide and we have to be able to cope with that.

“That is what makes them so dangerous, and the strength of their bench."

With so much riding on this weekend’s game, the Welsh camp could have done without unnecessary distractions, but after allegedly training with players outside of their World Cup squad, they have received unwanted attention from World Rugby and the media.

Despite the claims, Gatland was adamant his side hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I am sure you read the handbook,” he said. “We haven’t broke any rules but according to World Rugby we broke the spirit of the rules.

“What is the spirit of the rules? You either have rules or you don’t. It’s either in the rules or not.”