Gatland’s men need higher gear (From Free Press Series)

Gatland’s men need higher gear

10:00am Saturday 13th March 2010

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WALES will have to step up a gear today if they are to repeat their performance of two years ago at Croke Park and stop Ireland’s march towards successive Triple Crowns.

On their only previous visit to the ground Wales upset the odds as they stormed the Irish Gaelic Games citadel to emerge victorious and win the Crown for the first time in Ireland for 20 years.

This time Wales can’t repeat that achievement, having lost to England in their first game, and though they recovered with that last gasp victory over Scotland they subsequently lost against the French.

It leaves them languishing in fourth place with only Italy and Scotland beneath them and it also means they are fighting to restore some lost pride because defeat really would leave them fixed in the bottom section of the table.

The glass half full scenario is that Wales could have won all three games, for they have given every opponent a head start by trailing by some margin only to have to play catch-up. It succeeeded just once, against the Scots, and that was with the very last play of the match.

But the glass half empty theory is that they have been easily read with too many interception tries given away, two against France when Wales trailed by the ridiculous margin of 20-0 at the interval.

But in Wales’ defence, they have been without a number of key players because of injury, and the front five area of the pack in particular has suffered with a pride of Lions missing.

For Wales have been without Gethin Jenkins and Matthew Rees in all three matches, joined by Alun Wyn Jones against France, the lock out for the rest of the championship, while scrum half Mike Phillips has also been absent from the lot.

That’s a big loss to overcome and though Rees is back today Wales will be without their captain Ryan Jones, so it could be said they have performed pretty nobly under the circumstances, especially having come close in all three matches.

But results count whatever the injury toll and the Welsh public is pretty unforgiving. After the Grand Slam of two years ago, followed by fourth place last season, settling for fourth again will be difficult, for that is the best Wales can hope for if they go down today.

Injuries can’t excuse the problems which have surfaced in the line-out where Wales are the poorest performers in the championship, along with lowly Italy, neither can it excuse the indifferent starts, nor can it account for giving away interception tries.

If Wales are once again slow out of the blocks Ireland won’t let them back in for sure. They are a vastly experienced team who have been together for a long time and know how to close out matches.

And the Irish masses want to win this one for their talismanic captain Brian O’Driscoll who celebrates his 100th cap.

In addition, locks Paul O’Connell, the Lions captain in South Africa last summer, and Donncha O’Callaghan play together for the 14th time, five short of the record held by Scotland’s Scott Murray and Stuart Grimes and Italians Marco Bortolami and Santiago Dellape.

So Wales will have to produce something special to tip the scales their way.

The player they will turn to for inspiration yet again is Shane Williams, but this time he has a rival in the folklore stakes, apart from O’Driscoll, for Tommy Bowe is also at the peak of his powers.

The duel between Williams and Bowe will be a battle within a battle as the Ospreys pair go head-to-head in what has been called the hottest shoot-out of the 2010 Six Nations.

Williams reached 50 tries for Wales in his last match and beat Gareth Edwards’ record as their leading try scorer in the championship with 19 to continue his rich vein of form which has resulted in 21 tries in his last 24 appearances.

And Bowe has scored 10 tries in his last 11 games, his double in Ireland’s victory over England a fortnight ago making it six in his last 11 championship matches.

It will be as fast and furious as it always is in Ireland which should suit Wales who have shown with their dramatic second half comebacks that they are probably the fittest side in the tournament.

But cool heads will be needed as well and while Stephen Jones will be as unflappable as usual it looks very much as though Ireland pack too much heavy artillery for Wales and they could win quite comfortably.

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