Warren Gatland would prefer to be under the radar as the win over England raises World Cup expectations
Six thousand miles separate Cardiff and Tokyo but Warren Gatland knew the inevitable question was coming anyway. Having just seen off England and risen to third in the world rankings, did he now expect Wales to go big in Japan at this year’s Rugby World Cup? “Apparently not, according to a lot of pundits out there,” came the brusque reply. “We just want to keep under the radar if we possibly can.”
He might have added that linking Six Nations form and World Cup potential is far from an exact science. England in 2003 have so far been the only side in either hemisphere ever to have lifted the Webb Ellis Cup having won a big tournament – the Six Nations or the Rugby Championship – in the same calendar year. As with a tennis player winning the Australian Open, there are no guarantees of success at Wimbledon.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/feb/26/wales-world-cup-hopes-warren-gatland-rugby-union under the title “Wales can be big in Japan but Six Nations form no guarantee of success | Robert Kitson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
