So the new Wales coach has made history by picking 13 players from the same region in his first starting line-up. After announcing the names of 13 Ospreys to swoop down on England at Twickenham, who’d have thought we’d be comparing Warren Gatland to Ron Waldron in his blanket selection policy?
Not everyone, particularly from the other regions, will approve, but I can understand why Gatland has gone for the familiarity and comradeship of an established team. Maybe Ron Waldron wasn’t all wrong back in the ‘Welsh All Black’ days of the 80s when he picked so many players from the Neath side he himself had nurtured.
In Gatland’s case, the circumstances are very different. He had only two weeks to prepare his squad and had to rely on the familiar. One of the reasons he has opted for this selection is that it has been nigh impossible for him to prepare a team for every eventuality in such a short space of time. He has to rely on some kind of structure until he puts his stamp on the team.
He knows as a former national coach with Ireland that passion and togetherness are vital ingredients in the Six Nations’ Championship campaign, and that’s why he has gone for a familiar blend. Unlike another New Zealander, Graham Henry, who admitted he was taken aback with the intensity of the tournament when he first coached Wales in the Six Nations, Gatland knows what to expect.
The unfortunate thing about his huge Ospreys swoop is that he couldn’t pick the best three Ospreys players this season because they are also New Zealanders.
To be fair, I can’t really argue with most of his selection – although two players can count themselves desperately unlucky. Tom Shanklin has probably been dropped to the bench because the blitz defence is a facet of play favoured by Gatland’s new defence coach Shaun Edwards. Sonny Parker is more familiar with this system because this is the way the Ospreys play.
The other unlucky casualty is Gethin Jenkins whose long selection battle with Duncan Jones for the loose head prop berth continues. To be honest, there’s very little to separate them. Gatland is also right to emphasise too that this is a 22-man selection and that Jenkins, if not Shanklin, will no doubt play some part in Twickenham.
There’s a great deal of justified optimism out there in the build-up to the campaign because of the freshness of the coaching team and the recent successes of two of our regional sides in the Heineken Cup.
But we have to be realistic – we mustn’t forget that Wales were dumped by Fiji in the group stages of the Rugby World Cup while England reached the final of France 2007 only to lose to the Boks in a tight encounter. To beat England at home would require a monumental effort and this kind of performance is probably beyond Wales at the moment.
England have a huge pack of forwards and Jonny Wilkinson behind them and this combination is normally good enough to beat anybody at HQ. However, Brian Ashton is standing at a crossroads and he has to decide whether to follow his instincts of the attack-minded coach he has always been in the past or continue to follow the more pragmatic stilted approach he had adopted with England. Another warning - I do fear Cipriani’s involvement if he should be brought on, he’s a player who can change a game.
After saying that, I think our chances are better than they have been for some years at Twickenham. This Championship is more open than most because the two usually dominant juggernauts, England and France, are somewhat unknown quantities.
With Thomas Lièvremont now the France coach, they are likely to be more unpredictable than usual. Talent is never a problem, but the French eternal dilemma is finding the right combinations in a style that suits them.
The Irish question this year is how long can this veteran side keep on going. The Munster Men seem to shrink an inch when they play for Ireland. This should be a period of transition for the men in green as they look ahead to the next four years. The problem is that the under pressure Eddie O’Sullivan is desperate for this tired-looking side to keep on going.
Scotland, on the other hand, seem to be getting things in order. Their regional sides are more competitive than in previous seasons and coach Frank Hadden has got a pragmatic approach which brings out the best in what he has available. Nevertheless, he still has some way to go before his team becomes genuinely competitive.
The biggest loss for any side since last year’s Championship has been Pierre Berbizier’s exit as Italy’s coach. Berbizier managed to tap into the Italian psyche and combined passion, shrewd tactics and a little skulduggery to get a competitive blend. Nick Mallett will take some time to get the right mix.
I must say that I’m full of hope about what Wales can achieve under Warren Gatland. He has already established his authority and is laying down the foundations for years to come. What matters is not what happens on Saturday but that the side improves game by game. I hope that Gatland’s influence gradually comes to fruition and the first step in the Welsh renaissance is that Wales get more difficult to beat.
There may be 13 Ospreys in his side but I’d be surprised if there aren’t changes during the Championship as Gatland gets to know his players better and settles on a style of play which suits him and his personnel. He may indeed break a few players before the tournament ends in March.
© 2008 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales