Gatland unveils plan to match superpowers

Mar 18 2008 by Andy Howell, Western Mail

WARREN GATLAND has outlined his blueprint for European kings Wales to conquer the world.

Just 48 hours after leading Wales to Grand Slam glory, Gatland has called for:

The number of foreigners playing for Welsh regions to be cut;

Wales’ top 60 players to be in regional starting line-ups for showpiece Heineken Cup matches;

Youngsters to be given opportunities to make a mark at professional level;

Fitness levels to improve still further.

Wales coach Gatland, below, spoke out on a range of thorny issues from a position of strength after achieving national hero status transforming World Cup flops into Six Nations champions in just seven weeks.

Gatland admits his view might not sit nicely with bigwigs at every region – Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – but he urged everyone to pull together to take Wales forward so they can consistently compete on level terms with world champions South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

The Kiwi fears key members of his European title-winning side could be on the bench when Heineken Cup action resumes next month.

Scrum-half Mike Phillips and back-rower Jonathan Thomas have had substitutes’ roles during the majority of the big-spending Ospreys’ bid for Heineken glory this season with New Zealanders Justin Marshall and Filo Tiatia in-situ at the Liberty Stadium.

The Ospreys also have Wales’ three top locks – Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Gough and Ian Evans – on their books, while promising No 7 Ben Lewis, who has been touted as the country’s most likely long-term successor to Martyn Williams at openside flanker, is understudy to Marty Holah, another All Blacks international.

Gatland would like highly promising youngster Jamie Roberts, who started at wing against Scotland, to feature in his best position of full-back for the Blues but he is kept out by the presence of New Zealand international Ben Blair.

And Robin Sowden-Taylor, a member of the Grand Slam squad and another with designs on succeeding Williams for region and nation, is behind the Wales great in the pecking order at the Blues.

Although Gatland stressed he hasn’t any problem with quality foreigners such as Marshall, Tiatia, Holah and Blair being signed by Welsh regions, he is concerned by the total number.

The Scarlets recently signed former All Blacks lock Simon Malling and the Ospreys have landed Ireland winger Tommy Bowe, while the Dragons are understood to have mounted a recruitment drive Down Under.

Gatland says he isn’t entirely convinced the current system in operation here allows promising Welsh players to be fast-tracked like they are by Kiwi, Australian and South African teams in the Super 14, with the foreign legion employed in Wales being rugby’s equivalent of NHS bed-blockers.

Asked if he was confident a production line was in place to filter Welsh talent through to the national set-up, the former Ireland, London Wasps and Waikato boss, replied, “No, I am not.

“That’s our challenge. We have got to work on developing players. I’ve made a bit of an issue going forward of the number of foreign players playing in our regions.

“Six per region I think is too many. Even though I am a foreigner myself, it is not about me.

“I think we have to look at the number and quality of foreign players. We have to make sure they are of the very highest level and quality to have an influence on the game.

“I think we need to look at that going forward, we have to make sure we continue to develop Welsh players for the regions.”

Gatland was asked whether a player draft should be introduced in Wales to correct the imbalance which has seen the Dragons lose key players such as Gough and the capped Brew brothers – Aled went back to the Ospreys and Nathan to the Scarlets with both becoming bit-part figures – and the Ospreys splash the cash to hoover up almost any available talent in an effort to win the Heineken Cup.

He responded, “It’s not my decision. You could write about it. I am sure there would be a couple of owners who would have their views.”

But Gatland added, “Ideally, you want your best 60 players in Wales starting week in, week out. That is the ideal going forward.

“Look at us. Two or three players have just won a Grand Slam and they might have to go back to being on the bench for their regions.”

Gatland called for co-operation between all parties, saying, “It is up to us (Wales management), the union and regions working together to come up with a formula which is best for Welsh rugby and, hopefully, give us some consistent success in future.

“It will be very interesting to see the approach of some of the regions. One of the regional coaches texted his players saying, ‘Fantastic campaign, you’ve got next week off.’ But one or two of the other coaches want them in at 8.30am on Monday.”

Gatland was adamant the structure has to be right to ensure Wales didn’t suffer the same fate as in 1994 and 2005 when they failed to build on Six Nations titles.

“You are never going to stay at the top but our challenge now, as a group of coaches and players, is to build some consistency on this season so we don’t have these highs and lows that Wales experienced since 2005,” he said.

“It starts here. I believe this team is 12 months or two years away from where it could be.

“We are as good size-wise as anything in the world, it’s just that we need to be a bit leaner – leaner, bigger, stronger.

“The big thing going forward is to be the best physical athletes we can so we probably need to work harder physically than other countries.

“We are a group of white boys who don’t have some of the same physical attributes as some of the other nations have,” Gatland added.

He was referring to the genetic make-up of South Pacific islanders which, sports scientists have proved, have an advantage in being born with the fast-twitch fibres which make them naturally more explosive, faster and powerful.

It is the islanders who have been poached by New Zealand that provide the horsepower in the All Blacks squad and why Fiji possessed the most dynamic attackers at the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Gatland has acknowledged it would be a “huge honour” if he was involved with the British Lions in South Africa next year.

“If there’s a chance to get involved at some level that would be a huge honour but I have to make sure I don’t neglect Wales,” said Gatland.

The Western Mail understands he might have a role as an observer and that Ian McGeechan is firm favourite to head up the Lions coaching set-up for a record fourth time with Eddie O’Sullivan slipping out of the running following Ireland’s dismal World Cup and Six Nations championship showing.

Scotsman McGeechan was the architect of Test series triumphs in Australia (1989) and South Africa (1997), and a narrow 2-1 defeat in New Zealand in 1993. He was also in charge of the unbeaten midweek Lions team in New Zealand in 2005.

Sources have claimed McGeechan, who succeeded Gatland as director of rugby at Heineken Cup holders London Wasps and is Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards’ club boss, could be named as Lions overseer within the next month.

Edwards is a shoo-in to be Lions defence coach. It was that which McGeechan persuaded the Wasps board to allow the rugby league great to become a part-time member of Gatland’s Wales management team.

He wanted Edwards to sample union at Test level union in a bid to nail down a place on the Lions’ aeroplane to South Africa.

Now, if McGeechan says yes to overtures from Lions powerbrokers, his willingness to allow Edwards to moonlight with Wales could turn out to have been the canniest of moves.