Warren Gatland FAQ: What I said to Rees-Zammit and why I selected the next Wales captain
The Wales coach expressed his thoughts on that bombshell and his 34-man team, which contained several new players, in a cool, composed manner. Read all about Rees-Zammit’s unexpected choice to leave rugby to play in the NFL here.
In all, there were five new caps, and Dafydd Jenkins was named captain. The squad’s whole biography is available here.With our daily email, you can have the most recent rugby news delivered right to your inbox for free.This is what Gatland said.
Warren, how do you feel about the shocking news about Louis Rees-Zammit?
It took me approximately an hour to find out. It was roughly thirty minutes ago when I chatted with Louis. It comes as a slight surprise. After Gloucester got in touch with us, I talked to George Skivington for about twelve.
In the past 24 hours, a lot has happened rather rapidly. Louis stated that he made a proposal on Sunday to attend an NFL training camp. He has always wished he could have the chance to do it. He went to Gloucester on Monday after sleeping on it and didn’t give it much thought as to whether or not it would happen.
His attorneys advised him not to tell anyone. Gloucester has agreed to release him within the next few hours, and the documentation has been agreed upon and signed. He called me to notify me and share that knowledge. He also expressed his gratitude for his time at the World Cup and how much he had loved it.
Saying he’s 22 years old, he’s always wanted to be an NFL player. He believes that if he misses this chance now, it might not present itself later on. I sent him my warmest wishes. I’ve always thought it’s important for players to seize the chances that are given to them.
What are your plans if it doesn’t work out, I asked? He promised to return to rugby. All he believes is that there’s a window of opportunity and a suitable moment to act. Welsh rugby never has a boring moment. We were handed this (late). We are in the exact same boat as Gloucester.
They had hardly left the board. The past several hours have been a bit of a rollercoaster. I would want to extend my warmest wishes to Louis. Sincerely, I hope everything goes well for him.
Are you stunned?
I’m usually the type of person that doesn’t think about those things. I try not to let it get to me too much. Much like when a player gets hurt, you have to move on. That is his decision. As I would with any players and coaches,
I would like to wish him the best. They occasionally get the chance to go on. That has always had my support. If he has always wanted to succeed in that setting, he will always regret missing out on the chance to pursue his desire.
There isn’t Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the team. Did you talk to him?
Although I didn’t speak with him directly, Mike Forshaw did, and during their chat, he stated that he intended to pursue an English career path. I wish him success with that.
Will he be selected by England?
That will be up to England, though; if they do choose him, I hope they remain with him since they have a lot of options at the back three positions. We seen this when Ollie Hassell-Collins was chosen for the Six Nations team the previous year; after only one game, he was written off like a bath bomb. You would assume that they would remain with him if he went down that path.
Why did you select Dafydd Jenkins to be the captain?
We tried to be consistent with the two young leaders we picked out there, Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, and I believe that if people look at the team and look at what we were trying to achieve and build over the following three years in terms of the youth it was part of the thinking surrounding the World Cup. Regretfully, Dewi will miss the Six Nations because of his current injury.
Although there is a lot of competition in the second row, I think he has a lot of potential. I anticipate that in the next three or four years, he will undoubtedly be a starter by the time of the next World Cup, and he is now under a lot of pressure.
Over the following three to four years, we want to develop many of the young people in this group. The current average age of the team is about 25 years old. Our goal is to have players in their mid-to late-20s with 30–40 or 50 caps under their belts, and we are already working toward that goal as part of our preparation.Is there a reason for a few of the absences?
We had spoken a few months prior with Tomas Francis that he wouldn’t be initially available for us in the Six Nations due to his trip to France, and we were okay with that. He is still playing rugby for his country and will be considered in the future. Then, Dillon Lewis is currently a selection concern, and Henry Thomas hasn’t played much rugby lately.
We have an opportunity to consider helping a few of those young people who we have some time to devote to their development. The ability to move quickly as a tight five will be crucial for us in the future.
Since the current state of the games requires athletes, we need individuals who can do a certain task, but we also want to develop some of the players. Due to a calf injury, Taulupe Faletau will most likely miss the Six Nations.
Does your roster lack full-backs as a result of the Rees-Zammit news?
Not all full-backs are named like him. Tom Rogers has played a lot on the wing, but we believe that full-back Cai Evans will be his long-term position. Evans has been playing a lot at full-back, so we see him continuing to grow.
Although he has performed admirably for us on the flank, I believe that in the long run, full-back will be his position. Although he may not be fast enough to play as an international winger, he can still perform well, so we’ll get an opportunity to see him grow a little bit in that capacity. We want to see him given further chances at the regional level and to start a couple more games at full back.
Ioan Lloyd is someone we know can play there, so we have a lot of alternatives when it comes to looking at him. We are just making sure we have choices at full-back since Cam Winnett is now sidelined with a jaw ailment that needs to be fixed, which may prevent him from playing in the first few games.
What leadership qualities does Daf Jenkins offer?
He simply seems like a straight-forward, no-nonsense kind of guy to me. He’s a fantastic professional who works hard and is meticulous in his preparation, spending hours on his laptop studying training and observing other teams. He’s also frequently among the last to leave the gym. He’ll probably step in, perform a fantastic job, and set an excellent example.
I mentioned that we want to nurture a young set of players, and I’ve already spoken with Jac, Dewi, and Daf about it. I think we have a chance, and those individuals will form the foundation of our team moving ahead. I’m excited about that with us moving forward and working and developing as a squad not just as a team but also with the staff and coaches.
It’s a chance for him to set some standards going forward to mold the team around some of the things that they want in terms of setting an example, how they want things to work in terms of expectations of the squad.
How big is it that Scotland plays first?
One game at a time, therefore we’re looking forward to our home opener against Scotland. We see the Principality as a fresh start with a set of players, and they will undoubtedly be sad to be eliminated from the World Cup.
The Principality is sold out. We needed some consistency, so we retained some experience, especially with Gareth Davies, who we felt had a fantastic World Cup. We had a few chats with George North, and I believe he still has a chance to qualify for the next World Cup.
Over the next years, his position may fluctuate; he may wind up on the squad or among the 23. He knows full well that the pairing of George and Nick Tomkins was excellent during the World Cup.
It’s simply one game at a time in terms of expectations. We have a big game against England away in the second game, so if we can win that one, that game will give us some confidence.
We know we’re in for a tremendous test, but I don’t believe we’ll be overly afraid when we travel to Ireland. We only have one game at a time, so while the first one is good, the following few will provide challenges.
Is the sheer quantity of new caps due to necessity?
Wales is one of the least represented Tier One nations, so I believe that we should plan forward and consider how best to carry out our strategy over the next three or four years. While there is a lot of negativity around Welsh rugby, I believe there are also a lot of benefits, and part of that is starting things out well.
There are many financial drawbacks and difficulties, but in my opinion, one major benefit is that these difficulties are allowing many young people possibilities that we may not have had a few years ago.
Although we won’t get anything immediately, I believe that by providing them those opportunities, we will gain something over the course of the following three to four years. The current state of Welsh rugby will, in my opinion, be advantageous to the sport.
In contrast to what many are saying, I see the financial difficulties as a great opportunity for Welsh rugby to start again and something that will benefit us much in the coming years.