Gatland goes fishing but Kidney doesn’t bite

Wales coach Warren Gatland has warned his players to expect a Six Nations backlash from Ireland when the Celtic nations renew rivalries following their World Cup quarter-final clash.

Declan Kidney’s side host the Welsh in their RBS 6 Nations opener at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, February 5, their first meeting since Gatland’s team beat the Irish in Wellington last October to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Yet despite distancing himself from his previous penchant for hurling verbal grenades in the direction of opposition teams and coaches ahead of big games, former Ireland coach Gatland suggested Wales had not got the credit their performance deserved in defeating the Irish 22-10. “I think they probably weren’t allowed to play that day,” Gatland said at the RBS 6 Nations launch in London yesterday.