Gatland’s backroom staff waiting on SA tour deals

Apr 20 2008 by Andy Howell, Wales On Sunday

WARREN GATLAND has yet to finalise his coaching team for Wales’ tour of South Africa – even though the first Test in Bloemfontein is only 48 days away.

It is understood forwards coach Robin McBryde and kicking guru Neil Jenkins have yet to put pen to paper on new deals.

The position of team manager Alan Phillips remains unclear. He was given a contract extension to the end of the season.

Grand Slam-winning architect Gatland has been playing his cards close to his chest, declining to divulge whether a deal to bring in top fitness coach Craig White had been completed.

The former British Lions and ex-London Wasps conditioning expert had been expected to become part of Gatland’s Wales revolution next month.

The Kiwi had planned for White to work alongside current Wales fitness coach Mark Bennett, possibly starting as early as next month.

But Gatland admitted: “It’s up in the air.

“Two or three people have to be tied up. There are still a few contracts they are working through to the next World Cup but, hopefully, it will be done pretty shortly.”

The situation has been complicated by Jenkins and McBryde being seconded to the Wales management staff from their primary roles with the WRU as coaches roving the regions and academies providing specialist skills in developing young talent.

Gatland insisted Jenkins, McBryde and the rest of his backroom team should be hailed for their contribution to the astonishing transformation from World Cup flops to European title-winners.

“I think they are young and they are learning all the time,” he said.

“I have kept a strong Welsh influence within the coaching staff which is really important, but I have also people around me who I know well.

“Their work ethic and desire to succeed is as important as my influence.

“I think a lot, perhaps too much, has been made of myself and Shaun. Other people, not just the coaches, deserve a bit more credit: Robin, Rob Howley, Neil, Mark Bennett, Mark Davies (physiotherapist) and Alan.

“It’s not just about myself and Shaun, but a group of people who were very effective and worked very hard to create a really good environment.

“I am excited about the people we have working within the group.”

Gatland believes the effort they have put in resulted in significant strides being made and promised there was more to come.

“If you look at the biggest improvement in our game between the World Cup last year and the Six Nations, it is the number of phases we created,” he beamed.

“I think our ruck count went up on average by 20-30 per cent.”

Gatland insisted the key to matching the Springboks in two months time was at the breakdown.

“If we are going to beat South Africa, we have got to be prepared to play through lots of phases,” warned Gatland.

“The fact we have done that through the Six Nations to going to hold us in reasonably good stead.

“My experience, having been there in the Super 14 with the Chiefs, is you try to put them under pressure through phase rugby.”

Gatland was unsure when he would name his squad but expects it to be between 26 and 28 strong.

“I suppose, for us, the big thing is sitting down as a squad and saying what we want to get out of the tour,” he went on.

“The whole theme is about consistency. Our goal is to take a pretty strong side and to earn some respect.”

Phillips has just returned from a fact-finding trip to South Africa, designed to check out accommodation, venues and security aspects in the crime-ridden country.

“Alan has done a ‘recce’ and one of the things he came back with was that winning the Six Nations has brought a certain amount of respect for Wales,” explained Gatland.

“We must go out there and not let ourselves down. For me, that’s really important.

“I have said all along that it’s not about the results because they will take care of themselves in terms of attitude and performance.

“What’s important every time we put that jersey on, is it means something, that we represent the jersey properly and correctly, home and away.”

Gatland insisted that, even though he acknowledged his Six Nations heroes are in pole position for selection, it was not a closed shop.

“The message I am getting back at the moment is a lot of players on the fringes, ex-internationals who have not been involved for a few months or so and others, want to be involved in this set-up.

“For me, that’s exciting because you are creating a real opportunity for the team to develop and keep going forward.

“It puts a lot of pressure on the players who are already there.

“We are in a really good place at the moment in terms of what we have created during the Six Nations, a desire to move on.”