Gatland: It’s in Wales’s hands against the ‘Best England team for Five years’

Warren Gatland has claimed that “things are in our own hands” as Wales prepare for the crucial Six Nations showdown with England later this month.

After two rounds of fixtures, there are now two teams which have cleared the rest of the pack in the 2019 Six Nations. England and Wales have picked up two wins each in their opening fixtures and will face off in a potential title decider at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 23 February.

It is Warren Gatland’s tenth Six Nations Championships as Wales Head Coach but it is also his last. The New Zealander will step down from the role after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Wales are on the best run of form under Gatland’s leadership with a run of eleven consecutive victories which has taken them from 7^th to 4^th in the world rankings.

It’s an excellent run of results that has not been matched by the performances. Wales followed up a solid victory over France with a less-than-convincing 26-15 win over Italy in Week 2. Admittedly, Gatland took advantage of his squad and made 10 changes for the match but the performance was still a disappointment for many fans. That was not something which was echoed by Gatland personally who thinks that this could play into Wales’s hands.

"We have probably helped ourselves a little bit by not playing as well as we could have [against Italy],” Gatland claimed after the win.

“As a result, everyone will start talking about England, talking England up, and sometimes that is easier to help motivate yourself if that does happen. Things are in our own hands, with two big home games to come [against England and Ireland].

"The nice thing is we have two weeks together in the build-up to the England match and we are excited about it. Having two weeks together will be good for this group of players but we have a few things to work on, which is always pleasing, and a couple of really tough weeks of training.

"It will be electric in the Principality Stadium and it gives us a chance to be at home. Once you are on a run like this [11 successive wins], you don't want it to go.”

The home advantage can often be decisive in fixtures like this with each of the last three fixtures between these two sides being won by the home team. Admittedly, England were victorious in all three which perhaps explains their Head Coach Eddie Jones’s response when he was asked whether Wales’s Principality Stadium could be described as a “fortress”.

“I have never found it to be a fortress,” Jones admitted. “You go there and it is a tough game, they are a good side, [there is a] loud crowd but it has never been a fortress to me.”

Jones’s confidence is certainly justified. England followed up a hard-fought 32-20 win over Ireland in Week 1 with an enormous 44-8 victory over France a week later. Even Warren Gatland confessed that England were “outstanding” tactically at Twickenham in Week 2 and that is reflected in the pre-match odds. England are 4/7 to pick up the win at the Principality Stadium later this month on Betway as of 13 February. Wales are out at 13/8 for the match but Eddie Jones still expects a huge test.

“We’re playing the greatest Welsh side ever,” Jones claimed. “We’re going to have to be at our absolute best. Preparation starts on Wednesday. You know you’re playing against a Warren Gatland side.

“Any time England play Wales it is a special match. Because of the history of the two countries and the history of rugby between the two countries – it’s special.”

It certainly is a special fixture. Ignoring the obvious rivalry between the two nations, the competition between the two rugby teams is still fierce. England v Wales has produced some excellent matches down the years and this one is on course to be another. With Eddie Jones’s England looking unstoppable, the onus will be on Wales to step up their performance levels after the disappointing performance against Italy. The Welsh will need to be on top form to give Head Coach Warren Gatland a happy Six Nations send-off.