England have promised to turn Twickenham into a fortress for Saturday’s match, but Wales are not satisfied. “We’re not intimidated by it,” their manager Warren Gatland said on Thursday. “I can tell you that.” England captain Jamie George again addressed the crowd on Thursday as he said the start of Test week Instead of talking about their game plan as usual, the team discussed how to make Twickenham a more hostile environment. George said it had “set the tone for the week.”
“We want physicality, we want confrontation, we want aggression, and if we do that, then I think the fan engagement is going to be really noticeable,” George said. “I think there’s going to be a great atmosphere at Twickenham. Now it’s on us as players to support that.” He said England had “a huge responsibility to give people the opportunity to stand up and cheer.”
Well, whatever other concerns Wells may have, and there are many, Gatland is clear that the welcome they will receive from England fans is not one of them. “I’ve had some wins there,” Gatland said, “back in my days at the Hornets, so there’s no fear in it. I don’t find it intimidating at all. When you walk in the door, everyone is Outside, there are fans there and it’s a great stadium and it’s great to go in. I love the atmosphere. If you can get a win, it’s even more special.”
Gatland especially loved it when the place went quiet. “For us,” he said, “it was important to get off to a good start and stop the crowd from singing ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ too early.”
The question is whether Gatland’s young team can do that. The only change England made was to return Ellis Genge to the bench. But Wales, who trailed 20-0 in the first half of the first round and lost by a point against Scotland, have made seven changes, even with George North returning to centre-half Field, they still look pretty rough. Five of them have played fewer than five Test matches each, while their fly-half Ioan Lloyd is making his Test debut.
Had talented young winger Emmanuel Fay-Vaboso, who was born and raised in Cardiff, not decided to play for England, Gatland would likely have had another prospect on his side. Fay Waboso made his debut against Italy and England have left him on the bench again this week. Gatland said he didn’t care. “We haven’t even talked about him yet. He has already made his decision, wish him good luck. His name has not been mentioned,” he said. Gatland is more worried about his young players.
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“There are some guys who we think have talent and are really good but they’re still young,” Gatland said. “They haven’t played a lot of regional rugby but they’ve got some age-group experience. They’re learning here now and we’re working on it Fast track them, they’re young people, learning the trade.” That might explain why he’s not as optimistic as in previous years. As he says himself, he may not be intimidated by Twickenham, but there’s no real way to tell how his team will cope with the pressure of playing there.
Gatland said: “The only analogy is that county cricketers can comfortably face the ball at 70 to 80mph and then suddenly they come into a Test match and someone is facing the ball at 90 to 95mph. They’re bowling.” “How can you do that unless you’ve been through it?” He said England was also rebuilding. “I think both teams are probably in a similar position,” Gatland said, “trying to create some positivity in the game.”
It does mean he is asking the Welsh public to go easy on them if they do make a mistake. “I just hope people can see that we have a team, and it might take a little time, but we think over time, with this group of players and the coach together, we’ll end up having a quality team. Probably It’s this Saturday, it could be next week, but we already feel like we’re making the right progress as a team.” He hopes that happens sooner rather than later.
