‘This is everyone’s team. We’re just the lucky ones’

THE CONSENSUS since Warren Gatland made those comments at the Welsh team announcement was that he had two motivations in mind — primarily to get into the heads, hearts and minds of the Irish and to take the pressure off his own players.

In modern-day sports parlance, it’s “mind games” and that’s fine provided you know what you are doing. In Cardiff last night, the widespread view among Welsh and Irish alike was that Gatland had made a total ass of himself and that no amount of wriggling would get him off the hook. The ironic thing about it is he seems to have upset more Welsh people than Irish with his witless remarks.

Yesterday, embarrassed locals were going out of their way to distance themselves from remarks such as “the Welsh players dislike the Irish team more than any other” while the Western Mail commented: “Everyone knows full the Welsh don’t dislike the Irish. We have the utmost respect for our Celtic neighbours, as people and as a rugby-playing nation, and we know full well those sentiments are plentiful in return. If we have to concede the Six Nations title, then there isn’t a better nation we could hand the trophy over to.”

Gatland again tried to wriggle off the hook at the Welsh press conference yesterday but only managed to convey the impression that he was the one suffering most as a result of his outburst. True, he was never the most cheerful of individuals but this time around, there wasn’t the scintilla of a smile or a semblance of humour.

If either team leader was feeling the pressure, it certainly looked to be Gatland more than Declan Kidney and Brian O’Driscoll who were cheery and courteous earlier in the day at the Irish briefing.

The coach was obviously waiting for the moment when he was asked to comment on what Gatland had said and answered with a broad, impish smile: “I thought the pitch was in great order, it’s a smashing stadium to play in and we’re really looking forward to the game.”

The quiet laughter had just died away when it was put to Kidney that he looked remarkably relaxed and again he was well prepared: “I’d be looking forward to it alright, sure you get a free ticket and all!”

On a slightly more serious note, he went on: “It is sport, it’s what you get into it for. I do look forward to it. I enjoy watching these fellas play. I’ve always enjoyed watching Ireland play ever since I first saw them play on a black and white TV. Then you get to your first match. Every Saturday it comes around to international time, from the time you first take an interest in rugby and I was four or five, you look forward to your Six Nations as it is now and get excited.”

One had to enjoy O’Driscoll’s reaction to Gatland’s grenade: “I’m sure they can show their dislike on the pitch tomorrow and we’ll show them the respect they deserve.”

If this was a boxing match, Ireland would be miles ahead on points although Kidney did admit that for him it’s a lot different now that he is head coach. On the positive side, however, it appears to be the kind of responsibility that he relishes, just as he did when at the helm for Munster’s two Heineken Cup triumphs at this very stadium in 2006 and ‘08.

“I’ve been put in a situation now where I have a job to do, the lads have a job to do and that’s the way we’re going about our business,” he said. “There’s a good feel about it. In tournaments like this you are always going to play Wales. It’s the last match but to have so much involved in it adds a little bit of spice. It’s a Test match and it’s great to be here now.”

As for protecting his players from the inevitable hype and sense of expectation that has gripped the nation, he answers so readily and comfortably that you know for sure that he is very comfortable in the situation in which he finds himself.

“We do the same as we’ve done for every game,” he stated. “We’ve treated every team with respect; any time you wear a green jersey, you want to play to the best of your ability. It’s exactly the same tomorrow. If you try and do anything different, you’re not paying due respect to the jersey because then you’re picking your matches. So tomorrow is all about doing the same thing, going about your business in the same way. The supporters will come in, hopefully they’ll enjoy their day, but for us we have to go about our business the same way we always do.”

And finally, Declan, what would winning mean to you? “This is everybody’s team,” he maintained. “We’re just the ones lucky enough to be around here, so our job is to represent everybody, and let everybody’s feelings go with that.”