By David Parsons
Warren Gatland has put the pressure onto his Wales players this weekend by telling them the match against Italy is their chance to accept responsibility.
The Wales coach is under the spotlight himself as a defeat would give him a record of just one win in 10 Six Nations matches since he took charge for his second stint at the helm.
But Gatland insists he is ‘loving’ the pressure that comes with trying to avoid the most unwanted prize in world rugby – the dreaded Six Nations Wooden Spoon.
The New Zealander knows exactly how to stir his teams to win Grand Slams and British & Irish Lions series, but this weekend the target is to avert a first whitewash in the Championship in 21 years.
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Asked about how he is feeling about the pressure of preparing for a must-win game against Italy at Principality Stadium, he smiled and simply said: “I love it. It‘s a challenge.”
“You find out about people in weeks like this, when you are under a bit of pressure. It’s how you respond to that pressure,” said Gatland.
“You discover who is going to put their hand up, who is going to accept the responsibility. You find out so much more about individuals when you are under pressure.
“That is what international sport, and professional sport, is all about – whether you are playing for Grand Slams or you’re at the other end of the table, fighting for survival. We will be fighting to make sure we get a win on the weekend.”
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The last time Wales came into the final round of the Championship facing a whitewash, James Hook came up with 22 points in a 27-18 win over England at the Principality Stadium in 2007.
In 2003, future World Cup winning coach Steve Hansen’s side were beaten 33-5 in Paris to end rock bottom.
This season, a spirited fightback in the opening game against Scotland wasn’t enough to get a win and that one-point defeat was followed by a two-point loss against England at Twickenham.
Both Ireland and France pulled away in the second half in the next two games and now Dafydd Jenkins team meets an Italian team that won on it’s last visit to Cardiff two years ago.
“We don’t want to be the team that has the tag of Wooden Spoonists,” said Jenkins.
“We’re just really looking forward to the weekend. We didn’t want to be put into the position that has made this a pressure game, but that’s where we are.
“In these sorts of games you can tell who is meant for the Test arena and who really wants it. We’ll so how we go under pressure.”
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Italy came, saw and conquered Wales for the first time at Principality Stadium two years ago. Wayne Pivac was coaching Wales at the time.
Gatland says he didn’t watch that game and hasn’t put it on the agenda as a topic for debate in the build up to this weekend’s repeat clash.
“I didn’t really watch the game from two years ago. It was a situation that Wales had been in front a while like Scotland last week and Italy stayed in the game and won it in the end,” said Gatland.
“We haven’t spoken about two years ago, or Italy winning here. We are just focusing on ourselves and making sure we go out there and continue to improve.
“International rugby is always about winning and we understand the pressure of that and the expectation we put on ourselves.
“It’s just about us focusing on this weekend, continuing to improve and for us to go out there and win on Saturday.”
Dafydd Jenkins: 'There's light at the end of the tunnel'https://t.co/UP1MEeBAFh
— WalesOnline Rugby (@WalesRugby) March 14, 2024