Under pressure
WARREN Gatland is nothing if not resilient but if tonight’s Six Nations showdown with old enemies England ends badly it will push even the beleaguered Wales coach’s survival instincts to the limit.
Defeat for Wales to Martin Johnson’s side under the lights and possibly the roof at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will leave the 2008 Grand Slam winner from New Zealand without a Test victory in eight games and, even armed with a contract signed in October that takes him through to the end of the 2015 World Cup, that may be one loss too many to bear.
Of the seven games without a win since Wales dispatched Italy at home in the final Six Nations match of 2010, six have been defeats at the hands of Southern Hemisphere opponents, with a woeful draw against Fiji last November the only relatively bright spot and not enough to ease the pressure on the coach.
Yet rather than seek cover, Gatland has come out punching ahead of the Six Nations, stoking the tension between Wales and England even further than normal by questioning the temperament of the English hooker Dylan Hartley.
The combative New Zealand-born Northampton Saints front row irked the Wales camp before Christmas during his club’s successful Heineken Cup encounters with Cardiff Blues and that provided the ammunition for Gatland, who accused Hartley of helping to get Welsh back-up scrum-half Richie Rees suspended for the whole championship and declining to fight the Blues hooker Gareth Williams in an after-match dust-up.
“He’s always got a lot to say, hasn’t he?” Gatland said of Hartley. “Let’s see what he has got to offer and how he fronts up against us on February 4.
“He was responsible with some of his evidence for Richie Rees being banned for a long period, and he was not prepared to step outside to the back of the stand with Gareth Williams when invited to, so we’ll see how he fronts up against us.”
Whether that provokes the desired overreaction from Hartley tonight that Gatland is obviously seeking remains to be seen but English manager Johnson doubted it, choosing to return fire himself.
“It’s about pressure and how people react to it,” Johnson said archly. “Where Wales are, they are under pressure with their performances and not winning a game for a while.
“Warren’s had a blast. He has said a lot of things. It is not particularly subtle. It’s obvious what he is trying to do. Dylan will take it in his stride. We rally around guys when they’re singled out. You are potentially giving ammunition to the opposition. It brings the team together.
“With the opening game in Cardiff, they will be desperate to win. So are we.”
Gatland, who followed Johnson into the Six Nations launch press conference, continued the rally, refuting his rival’s dig about pressure and mocking the championship target set for England by new RFU chief John Steele.
“At least my chief executive hasn’t come round and said I’ve got to finish first or second. No, we’re always under pressure. That’s part of the game. The hardest thing about international rugby is that we’re all limited in our preparation.
“You’re relying on getting your squad together, getting players fit. You don’t have pre-seasons, you’ve got to prioritise in your planning and preparation for games and sometimes you’re relying on a little bit of luck in terms of results; a bit of confidence, momentum. But as a coach, you’ve got to back your own ability and that’s what I’ve got to do.”
Asked to explain his initial comments about Hartley, Gatland continued in playful mode: “We need to sell a couple of thousand more tickets and just try to get the ratings up!
“I’ve been guilty of saying a few things in the past but you do more press during a week than you play rugby and sometimes I go to these press conferences and I get bored. And if someone asks me an interesting question I respond to it with an honest opinion.”
For Gatland and the rest of Wales, it is difficult to see past tonight’s opening game, so pivotal is it.
“The bottom line is that this is a massive game for both teams. If you lose your opening match, things can be over for you pretty quickly.
“If you win a couple of games you can build on that, and you become incredibly tough to beat. There have been three Grand Slams in three years. I doubt it is on the cards again but if you win your first game it gives you a chance of coming away with the championship.”
The odds on Wales doing that are not great, particularly given an injury list which will deny Gatland his first-choice props, Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, and wing Leigh Halfpenny, and even that rotten run of form, and Gatland is realistic.
“Look at London Irish, they’re not the worst side in the world but they lost 10 in a row. That’s the way sport goes sometimes. It’s like (New Zealand assistant coach) Wayne Smith said to (Wales attack coach) Rob Howley that we’re probably the toughest team for them to play. They know that for 65 minutes they will get a hell of a game but they don’t know if that will come at the start, middle or end.
“They think if they keep their composure, that we will make a critical mistake. It’s probably a fair assessment. We know if we put it all together we are good enough to test any team in the world but it’s got to be for longer than 65 minutes.”
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