WARREN GATLAND is never slow in telling his Wales players where they stand and yesterday the coach admitted that he had considered punishing ill discipline with fines of up to €35,000 for needless yellow cards.
Statistics show that Wales are the worst of all the Six Nations sides when it comes to conceding points while a man down and tomorrow they go into round two of this season’s tournament distinctly short on secondrows after Bradley Davies was banned for the off-the-ball tip tackle which saw the Cardiff lock yellow-carded against Ireland.
A six-week ban means Davies will miss the rest of the tournament and Gatland said he had asked the players to come up with a deterrent, having been less than happy at his own proposal. “I am not talking about unlucky yellow cards . . . but we have had yellow cards in the past which I think have been a bit unnecessary. So I have asked the players to decide what sort of deterrent we need, as I have held my hands up as a coach and said that whatever I am saying at the moment is not working.
“I did suggest a fine of £20,000-£30,000 could be relevant but I don’t think they were too keen on that. We need to come up with something relevant and we will in the next few weeks.”
Gatland’s captain, Sam Warburton, who was sent off during the World Cup semi-final against France for a tip tackle, also spoke about the need for Wales to maintain their discipline. “It is definitely something we need to sort out because one day, if we’re playing a team like a Southern Hemisphere side and we did go down to 14 players, they would pretty much capitalise and score points every time,” said Warburton, who is expecting to be fit to play against Scotland after suffering a dead leg against Ireland.
“We have to somehow, and I don’t know how, completely eliminate that from our game. Players have been dropped before. If you get dropped and lose out financially, I don’t think you would do it again. I know I wouldn’t. I haven’t spoken to Bradley about it [the ban] because when I went through my red card, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it to players. He knows he made a bad mistake.”
More immediately Gatland has to consider the decision of Andy Robinson to turn his back on the wind and rain and ask for the roof at the Millennium Stadium to be closed tomorrow.
Two years ago Robinson picked a fight with Gatland, asking that the game be open to the elements. This time Gatland is pushing at an open door, although he is taking his time in saying so. Robinson wanting the lid on suggests Scotland, or at least their coach, believe they can take on Wales at their own expansive game.
For a team who have not scored a try in four outings it may be a gamble of considerable proportions, especially when pressure is building on some of the Scotland coaching staff. But with a new, ambitious and decidedly confident outhalf, Greig Laidlaw, now pulling the strings, Robinson is going for broke at a stadium where Scotland have little recent history of success.
Only once since 2006 have Scotland won on the road and Cardiff has been a particular problem with nothing to show for a decade’s endeavour, although they came mighty close last time – leading by 10 points with seven minutes to go – before Shane Williams nipped in to leave Robinson fuming.
He was fuming again last week after his side had handed England the Calcutta Cup but by midweek was prepared not only to pin his faith in Laidlaw as his starting outhalf but to put the uncapped Glasgow number 10, Duncan Weir, on the bench alongside two other Warrior debutants, the prop Ed Kalman and fullback Stuart Hogg.
With Lee Jones, on the right wing facing the mighty George North and getting only his second cap and Max Evans on the left, opposite the even bigger Alex Cuthbert, Robinson is also betting that his forwards can put Scotland on the front foot and upset a Wales frontrow which for once has the Lions props, Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, playing in tandem.
Against that Wales have a flanker, Ryan Jones, in the second row following Davies’ ban while the fitness of two thirds of their backrow must be open to doubt. However, with bookmakers giving long odds on a Welsh victory it is hard to argue Scotland’s case.
Gatland was at least prepared to attempt to do so, saying of their defeat against England at Murrayfield: “If you look at the territory, possession and line-breaks, you would ask yourself: ‘How did Scotland lose that game last week?’ They will be frustrated.
“I don’t think they are a negative side, I think they have just struggled to capitalise on the opportunities they have created. They have always had ambition and wanted to play rugby.”
WALES: L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), G North (Scarlets); R Priestland (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), H Bennett (Ospreys), A Jones (Ospreys), R Jones (Ospreys), I Evans (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons). Replacements: K Owens (Scarlets), P James (Ospreys), L Reed (Scarlets), A Powell (Sale Sharks), L Williams (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Perpignan), S Williams (Scarlets).
SCOTLAND: R Lamont (Glasgow); L Jones (Edinburgh), N De Luca (Edinburgh), S Lamont (Scarlets), M Evans (Castres); G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), C Cusiter (Glasgow); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh, capt), G Cross (Edinburgh), R Gray (Glasgow), J Hamilton (Gloucester), A Strokosch (Gloucester), R Rennie (Edinburgh), D Denton (Edinburgh). Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), E Kalman (Glasgow), A Kellock (Glasgow), J Barclay (Glasgow), M Blair (Edinburgh), D Weir (Glasgow), S Hogg (Glasgow).
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon and Simon McDowell (both Ireland).
