{"id":291817,"date":"2023-09-08T18:35:43","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T18:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=291817"},"modified":"2023-09-08T18:35:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T18:35:43","slug":"warren-gatland-looking-to-put-issues-behind-him-and-focus-on-fiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/warren-gatland-looking-to-put-issues-behind-him-and-focus-on-fiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Gatland looking to put issues behind him and focus on Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Warren Gatland looking to put the drama behind him and focus on the nerves and excitement of a World Cup campaign as Wales prepare for opener against Fiji<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u00a0Warren Gatland raring to go ahead of Wales&#8217; World Cup campaign this weekend<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Welsh get their tournament underway with clash against Fiji on Sunday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gatland hoping to avoid the drama around the Wales camp at previous finals\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Four years ago, the start of Wales\u2019 World Cup bid was thrown into complete and utter disarray when assistant coach Rob Howley was sent home from Japan for breaching betting rules.<\/p>\n<p>The carnage was absolute. Then Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips flew round the world to manage the mess and front an emergency press conference.<\/p>\n<p>In Bordeaux yesterday (FRI), there was nothing for Wales to worry about off the field, save the searing heat. As temperatures touched 35 degrees, Welsh and Irish fans basked in the sun.<\/p>\n<p>The Six Nations grand slam winners face Romania on Saturday while for Wales, it\u2019s Fiji on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their head coach Warren Gatland is at his fifth World Cup and, rarely for the madcap world that is Welsh rugby, has no off-field drama to distract him right now.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/17\/75224181-0-image-a-52_1694192214520.jpg\" height=\"434\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Warren Gatland will be at his fifth World Cup when he leads out Wales in their opener\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/17\/75224207-0-image-a-53_1694192303103.jpg\" height=\"507\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Welsh had a disappointing Six Nations and are looking for a more serene World Cup\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, there is apprehension.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I always get nervous. I\u2019d be worried if I wasn\u2019t,\u2019 Gatland said.\u2018 When you\u2019re nervous about the game or what potentially might happen, it focuses the mind. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. I see it as a real positive in terms of the players being right on the edge before the game.<\/p>\n<h3>LIKELY LINE-UPS\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>Wales:<\/span>\u00a0L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar, Davies; Thomas, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Wainwright, Morgan (capt), Faletau<\/p>\n<p>Replacements: Dee, Domachowski, Lewis, Jenkins, Reffell, T Williams, Costelow, Dyer<\/p>\n<p><span>Fiji: <\/span>Droasese; Ravutaumada, Nayacalevu (capt), Radrada, Habosi; Tela, Lomani; Mawi, Matavesi, Tagi, Nasilasila, Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, Tuisue, Tagitagivalu, Mata<\/p>\n<p>Replacements: Ikanivere, Ravai, Doge, Mayanavanua, Botia, Kuruvoli, Tuisova, Maqala<\/p>\n<p>Referee: Matthew Carley (England)<\/p>\n<p>Kick-off: 8pm Sunday, Bordeaux<\/p>\n<p>TV: ITV<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ll be some nerves before and probably during the game.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Wales are desperate to get going after months of gruelling fitness work.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s been fantastic,\u2019 Gatland said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Having that time and preparation and putting some of those things that happened in the Six Nations behind us has been a real positive.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, Wales won just a single Six Nations match in Gatland\u2019s first campaign back in charge.<\/p>\n<p>His players threatened to strike for the game with England over contractual and financial uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>There is almost always some sort of off-field drama in Welsh rugby, but this World Cup has been serene to date compared to previous campaigns. There have been no disruptions.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve had some issues in Welsh rugby. Hopefully those are behind us now and we can completely focus on this World Cup,\u2019 Gatland said.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Wales quickly put Howley\u2019s departure behind them and went on to reach the semi-finals as Gatland followed a Six Nations grand slam with a last-four finish.<\/p>\n<p>Gatland departed the Welsh rugby hot seat in Tokyo, declaring he would be heartbroken if Wales went into the doldrums under his successor Wayne Pivac.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, that is where they went with defeats by Italy and Georgia and now Gatland is back with another miracle the aim.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018No I didn\u2019t,\u2019 said Gatland this week, when asked if he could have ever foreseen he\u2019d be back in charge of Wales for the 2023 tournament in France.<\/p>\n<p>And yet here he is. Fiji are sure to provide Wales with a more-than-significant test. It must not be forgotten they are the top-ranked team in Pool C, ahead of Wales and Australia.<\/p>\n<p>But there can be no excuses for Gatland and his side. It is down to them to perform now.<\/p>\n<p>Rookie captain Jac Morgan, 23, is the player with the least number of caps in the starting XV though there is a nice blend between youthful exuberance and experience.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/18\/75224269-0-image-a-54_1694192477496.jpg\" height=\"439\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Rookie skipper Jac Morgan leads a team which has a good blend of youth and experience<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/18\/75224479-12497139-Wales_will_come_up_against_Fiji_and_captain_Waisea_Nayacalevu_in-m-64_1694193147422.jpg\" height=\"445\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wales will come up against Fiji and captain\u00a0Waisea Nayacalevu in their opening pool game\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Simon Raiwalui, Fiji\u2019s head coach, lost his star fly-half Caleb Muntz at the start of this week.The remarkable Levani Botia is only fit enough for the bench.<\/p>\n<p>Raiwalui said: \u2018When could we ever be called favourites when we&#8217;re considered a developing country versus a developed country? We&#8217;re confident with our preparation but we never go in thinking we&#8217;re favourites to win. We&#8217;re humble.\u2019 The thing is, though, Fiji probably are favourites.<\/p>\n<p>Welsh supporters thronging to Bordeaux and looking for a good luck omen may have realised this is the city where their country\u2019s football team started a famous run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals. Gareth Bale helped Chris Coleman\u2019s men to a 2-1 win over Slovakia in June that year.<\/p>\n<p>Morgan and Co will hope to achieve similar success at the same stadium on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wales have stressed they have full confidence in their fitness. It will be tested in the relentless heat, though World Rugby\u2019s sensible decision to introduce water breaks for the opening round of World Cup matches may favour Fiji. Regardless, Bordeaux is set for a cracking weekend of rugby.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s a lot of confidence within the team that if we get things right, we can go far,\u2019 Morgan said.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12497139\/Warren-Gatland-looking-drama-focus-nerves-excitement-World-Cup-campaign-Wales-prepare-opener-against-Fiji.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warren Gatland looking to put the drama behind him and focus on the nerves and excitement of a World Cup <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Warren Gatland looking to put issues behind him and focus on Fiji - 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