Warren Gatland has vowed to reintroduce the “no excuses” environment that revolutionised Welsh rugby between 2008 and 2019 as he prepares for another crack at the Six Nations and World Cup next year.
Gatland had eight weeks to prepare for his first audition in the Six Nations in 2008, when he inspired a Wales team that had been knocked out of the World Cup in the pool stages by Fiji a few months earlier to notch a first win at Twickenham against England in 20 years.
Now he has 52 days to try to mastermind a gameplan to overcome the world’s top-ranked team, Ireland, when Andy Farrell’s side will head to Cardiff as tournament favourites.
Given his last Six Nations game was a 25-7 drubbing of the Irish in Cardiff to secure his third grand slam in 2019, he returns knowing exactly what to expect and how to get the most out of a playing group that still contains many of the players he coached previously.
“How do you create an environment where there are no excuses? Roger Lewis and Martyn Phillips [previous chief executives] gave us the tools to create that environment, so when players come into camp, we could get the best out of them,” said Gatland.
“We prided ourselves in the past on being able to do that. The challenge is doing that in the coming weeks so that players are excited about wearing that jersey and leaving everything out on the pitch in terms of getting performances and results.
“What are the expectations at the moment? I’d probably need a discussion on that, but you’ve always got to believe and dream. I look at success as not always being about winning, but about overachieving. With my upbringing in New Zealand as a Kiwi, we always believed if you work hard, you get results — that’s always been my attitude and you must never ever be afraid to take something on.
“I wouldn’t be here doing the job unless I thought we were capable of winning things.”
The uncompromising approach he adopted in his first stint in charge earned Wales three grand slams, a number one world ranking and two World Cup semi-finals. If things looked bad when he took up his appointment in 2007, the landscape is not that much healthier now.
He has returned at the end of a year in which Wales won just three times, lost at home against Italy and Georgia and surrendered a 21-point lead to Australia in their last match. That led to the sacking of Wayne Pivac and an SOS call to Gatland.
“It’s always a bit of a roller coaster in Welsh rugby, but you’re judged on two things — one of them is the Six Nations,” said Gatland. “It’s probably been a little bit up and down, although potentially a grand slam could have been won in 2020. There’s no doubt Covid has had an impact on things in the last few years as well.
“The Six Nations is incredibly important, as is trying to do well in a World Cup year. That’s my focus for this year, getting this team up and running for a good Six Nations and then France.
“Getting Ireland first up at home is not the worst thing — they’re the best team in the world and rightly so. It’s a tournament of momentum, you win your first game and you’ve got a good chance of doing well. To get them first up, it’s probably the one game you want at home. Playing against the best team means there’s probably a bit more pressure on them — I think we’ll be pretty excited about getting ready for that game.”
Before meeting Ireland, he will have to assess his backroom staff, as well as run the rule over ageing icons such as Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens and Dan Biggar. Can they make it through the next 10, gruelling months?
“I haven’t spoken to any of the coaches yet because there was a review process conducted by the WRU and I’m going through that process at the moment,” he said. “I’ve spoken to a number of people and I’m trying to draw conclusions from the discussion I’ve had about whether we stick with everyone or if we make changes. That’s ongoing.
“It’s challenging for people and the roles they are in, but I’ve got to make sure that I do the right thing and make the best decision for Wales and the team.
“With the players, I don’t think age is the issue, it’s about how you get them through the next 10 months and how you manage them. If I look back to 2011, we brought through some youngsters before that World Cup in New Zealand. It’s making sure I find the balance. Some older players might be important, but you have to get that right and ensure players are able to perform.”
