Warren Gatland: New defensive strategies putting attackers on back foot

Wales boss Warren Gatland has underlined the degree of difficulty that teams face in present-day test match rugby when it comes to trying to break down opposition defences.

Critics of this season’s Six Nations have pointed to a lack of quality, attacking rugby being at a premium, and condemning it among the worst Six Nations tournaments in its 17-year history.

France — who visit the Principality Stadium tomorrow night — came in for particular fire after grinding out home victories over Italy and Ireland earlier this month by a combined total of three points. However, Gatland is quick to point out the challenges faced by teams in terms of their attacking strategies.

“Everyone talks about French flair and where has the French flair gone? In the past, they had absolute world-class quality players in attack,” Gatland said.

“The reason is not so much French flair any more, it’s not because they haven’t got the players, it’s just teams defensively are so organised. There is just no space on the field. You come up against an organised defence and people who are as conditioned and as fit as you are, then you have got an ability to shut teams down.

“In the past, they (France) have gone out with the attitude of ‘let’s play and let’s play what is in front of us’. For teams like us, that is just happy days. We love that sort of thing if you are going to come and play like that against us, because it’s just so easy to shut down.

“You get breaks in the game. They are made by someone missing a tackle or someone making a system error — that’s where the breaks are. At this level, not many players make mistakes any more and not many players miss tackles.

“Where’s the flair gone? Well, we are all trying to be innovative and hopefully trying to create space, but the more you try and be creative in attack, the better teams become defensively as well.”

On France, Gatland added: “There were a lot of things said about the previous regime and a lot of unrest in that team. The thing about Guy Noves, as a coach you look at his track record and what he has done at Toulouse, and it has been absolutely exceptional.

“If I am looking at that from the outside, to have a coach like that come in, he is already going to command respect for what he has achieved as a coach, and that makes a big difference to a squad and a team.”