Warren Gatland
Wales coach Warren Gatland fired an early shot at the All Blacks’ World Cup defence, suggesting the New Zealanders may be hampered by their weak pool.
New Zealand and Wales face vastly different challenges to make the World Cup playoffs. The All Blacks head Pool C that includes the improving Argentina, Tonga, Georgia and Namibia.
In contrast, Wales find themselves in the “pool of death” with hosts England, Australia, Fiji and Uruguay.
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“With the World Cup, New Zealand always go in as favourites, but I’m not sure their pool is tough enough to prepare them properly to win the World Cup.
“Whoever comes out of our pool, Pool A, has a great chance to go onto the RWC final and possibly win it – whether you come out of the pool top or second,” he said.
Gatland’s theory, one that has been proven in the past, is that the All Blacks won’t be tested strongly enough in pool play to ensure they are firing on all cylinders for the quarterfinals.
In the 2007 World Cup, New Zealand dominated a weak Pool C, thrashing Italy (76-14), Portugal (108-13), Scotland (40-0) and Romania (85-8).
They then confronted France in Cardiff and suffered a nightmare quarterfinal exit for the first time, losing 20-18, looking rusty and rattled.
Current All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was an assistant then and will certainly factor that into his planning.
The All Blacks play Wales in their final match of the year in Cardiff on November 23, in a year-end tour that includes Tests against the United States, England and Scotland.
Gatland said Wales would leave a few secrets up their sleeves in the looming November Tests and next year’s Six Nations with an eye to preserving their World Cup tactics.
“We will be looking to try a few things different in the autumn and the Six Nations but we are also mindful that with so much analysis that we will be working towards things for the World Cup that we will plan and execute during training but may not show before then,” he said on WalesOnline.
Gatland also shared his thoughts on the Southern Hemisphere’s Rugby Championship and felt it was a “great competition”.
“We’ve already seen the benefit for Argentina playing in that tournament, in two years there has been massive improvement in their performances,” he said.
Gatland believes the new pitch at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, which has had artificial grass added to it, will enhance the brand of rugby he is trying to get Wales to play.
“The old pitch was always difficult to play on. Unless it was down for a significant period, it would cut up on so many occasions. It was difficult to play the high-tempo style we wanted.
“The new pitch will be brilliant and with the athletic players we have, I hope we will see a real difference this autumn,” he stated.