1:32 PM
Gatland: “I want to create a ‘no excuse’ culture”
Back at the helm of the country he led to three Grand Slams, Warren Gatland says he wants to create a no-excuse culture.
Telegraph Sport got rare behind-the-scenes access to Wales’ impressive training center at the Vale Resort this week.
I want training sessions where the players have to perform skills when they are fatigued and under pressure.
We did a lot of conditioning and physical work in the first week and by the end of the week we had one or two bumps and bruises, but what I noticed was that before our session on Tuesday, 100 percent of our squad was fit and available for selection.
Read here exclusively for Gavin Mairs.
1:10 PM
Wales urged Ireland to step foot to foot
The first game of the Six Nations, the first game of a World Cup year and the tension is palpable. The Six Nations is the only tournament in sport that never lets you down. It is always full of intrigue, rivalry and hard-fought matches and never has it been as good as last year when out of 10 games without Italy, five were settled with only one score between the two sides.
Wales vs Ireland sets us up and, as with all Six Nations fixtures, this clash will reveal much of what to expect from this tournament and the upcoming World Cup. Wales back under Warren Gatland, the man who led them to three Grand Slams, is desperate for a good performance after a horrific 2022. The New Zealander stressed that the Welsh want to win the Six Nations, and not just as a build for the showpiece in France later this year.
Ireland enters the match and the tournament as number 1 in the world and would like to illustrate that they did not peak too early as they did four years ago. As if to empathize with the tight nature of the Six Nations, coach Andy Farrell reminded everyone that the men in green hadn’t won in Cardiff since 2013.
Ireland will have to beat their 10 year old Principality Stadium duck without some key players. They are without support Tadhg Furlong and this morning key man Jamison Gibson-Park was ruled out – the scrum half was reportedly not recovering from a hamstring injury. Conor Murray steps up in the starting XV.
The hosts are starting out as marginal underdogs, but with Gatland back at the helm and an exciting home crowd, the side have been told to take on Ireland.
“The cliché is obvious, but they (Ireland) are a team on form, they play with confidence,” center George North said. “It shows the confidence they have in the squad, the players they left with.
“I think the most important thing is we have to match them toe to toe. If you allow Ireland any momentum or pre-football, it’s a really long day at the office.”
Stay here for all the pre-match build-up and action from one of the cathedrals of world rugby.