The PRO12 whitewash by the Welsh teams over the Irish provinces was very much welcomed by the Kiwi
Once again we tuned into a member of the Welsh team hoping for something to get angry over and once again we were left disappointed. Warren Gatland was diplomacy personified when he met the press yesterday and while he didn’t quite shower us in the level of praise that Sam Warburton and Shaun Edwards did, he was still pretty sound.
He dismissed talk of the teams being fierce rivals, saying that we were more like ‘brothers fighting in the back yard’.
‘It has been pretty even over recent years and there are no hard feelings or bad blood between the two teams, just a very strong rivalry when you know each other so well and play each other so often.
‘It’s like playing against your big brother in the back yard. You want to beat him as often as you can and Saturday will be no different.’
He also rejected the idea that the Welsh players had an issue over being regularly turned over by Irish sides in European competitions, something he had alluded to in the past. However, he did cite last weekend’s run of results in the PRO12.
Cardiff, Ospreys, Scarlets and the Dragons beat Connacht, Munster, Leinster and Ulster respectively last weekend and while we saw it and hoped it wouldn’t matter, Gatland believes it has boosted the Welsh team this week.
Last weekend was the first time since 2010 that all four Welsh regions won against Irish provinces. It was a big boost for us and for the players; they came in this week with a spring in their step.’
We’re still hoping it was just a freak set of results and not an omen for the big one on Saturday.
