Wales’ Warren Gatland recalls Richard Hibbard to counter England power

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/02/six-nations-warren-gatland-wales-england

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Warren Gatland has a remarkable Six Nations coaching record and his ability to chisel out a psychological edge is among his many talents. Naming his team 48 hours early hardly qualifies as a major surprise – the list of names was wholly predictable – but the perception of Wales being a more decisive and settled camp before Friday night’s Cardiff collision has been subtly reinforced.

It also left Gatland free to speculate idly on England’s line-up, not least his suggestion that the Leicester pair of Tom Youngs and Dan Cole should be picked in the front row because of their club familiarity. Given that Stuart Lancaster is expected to name Dylan Hartley at hooker rather than Youngs, another possible seed of English uncertainty has been artfully sown.

There is some history here. Before the 2011 Wales-England encounter in Cardiff Gatland called out Hartley as a potential weak link. It backfired on that occasion, so it was interesting to hear him wonder aloud if Youngs might be England’s preferred option this week: “I think he’s played pretty well for Leicester and he’s pretty experienced. That club combination with Cole is also pretty familiar.”

A double bluff? It required no formal MI5 training to start thinking along such lines as the Tigers pair were the starting combination when England lost 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium in 2013. When Hartley started the following year at Twickenham, England won 29-18 and Wales would doubtless be happier if he began the match on the bench.

Gatland, however, is not about to hand England unnecessary ammunition and was happy to confess he might have misjudged Hartley in the past. “I said a few words about him a number of years ago and he shoved it back in my face by responding brilliantly with a fantastic performance,” he said. “As a coach you’ve got to admire and respect that. I think he’s a quality hooker.”

It should also be remembered that Gatland selected Hartley in the original party for the 2013 Lions tour to Australia only for the player to be suspended and miss the trip. “I spoke to Dylan a couple of months ago and we spoke about the Lions and not having the opportunity to go on that tour,” said Gatland. “I would love to have worked with him and I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player. I’ve no doubt that, if he doesn’t start on Friday, he’ll play some time during the game.”

Regardless of whom England ultimately select, the Wales coach also reckons he knows what is coming, having coached alongside Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell with the Lions. “I presume, knowing Graham, that England will target us up front and see that as a big part of the game. If they dominate us and get some ascendancy up front, they’ll go a long way towards winning the game. We’re pretty aware of that. Given the number of injuries they’ve had, I think they’ll keep things pretty simple, come along with a physical approach and try and dominate us at set pieces.”

It helps explain the return for Wales of the powerful Richard Hibbard at hooker, with the only other change to the side that beat South Africa in November being the return of George North. Liam Williams reverts to the bench and Scott Williams misses out altogether, the Welsh management saying that the Clermont centre Jonathan Davies is fully fit to start.

The game will also yield a 50th cap for the Wales captain, Sam Warburton, a player for whom Gatland clearly has huge respect as a leader. “He reminds me of Richie McCaw: someone who has been given the role young and someone who we’ll get a lot more from in the next few years as a captain and a player.”

It was equally hard to argue with Gatland’s description of Leigh Halfpenny as “the world’s best goalkicker”, nor to overlook the kick up the backside the Wales coaching staff have given North as they seek to increase his work-rate. “We don’t think George has played that well in the Welsh jersey in the last few games so there’s a lot of pressure and expectation on him to perform,” he said. “But he does have that X-factor and he scores tries. We’re looking for a big performance from him on Friday night.”