Gatland defends Welsh team after World Rugby statement

Wales head coach Warren Gatland made a fierce defence in response to World Rugby's statement.

Speaking at a press conference in Sunbury, Gatland told reporters: “I am sure you’ve all read the statement.

“We haven’t broken any rules. According to World Rugby, we’ve broken the spirit of the rules, so I don’t know what that means.

“We haven’t done anything underhand, and I don’t know what we’ve done wrong.

“You’ve either got rules or no rules, so what does spirit of the rules mean? It’s either in the rules or not.”

Asked about England's midfield selection at a Wales press conference in Sunbury on Thursday, Gatland added: “Sam Burgess is a world-class player.

“We are just really excited about Saturday. England is a quality team with a huge amount of strength in depth.

“We were expecting England to go with the same 10,12,13, so that (selection) threw us for a few days.

“Sam is similar in size and stature to Jamie Roberts, and Brad Barritt is a very experienced defender...They have got some world-class players.”