Gatland snipes back at ‘personal’ Irish jibes

WARREN GATLAND lit the fuse on the eve of today’s Six Nations showdown with Ireland by firing a blast back at his ‘personal and low’ critics.

Wales boss Gatland has suffered a series of stunning verbal attacks from the Irish in the build-up to the clash in Dublin with one reporter labelling the Kiwi as a ‘menopausal warthog’ while former Ireland lock Neil Francis suggested he could be sacked this summer following a run of indifferent results.

Francis also mounted a savage attack on Wales centre pair Jamie Roberts and James Hook, describing the Lions player of the series as an ‘average rugby player’ while lambasting Hook’s defence as ‘naïve’.