Speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports , former Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named the nucleus he believes the nation can rebuild around and reflected on the golden era that delivered three Six Nations Grand Slams.
Gatland has explained why the moves of Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan to Gloucester can pay off by the next World Cup , and credited Roger Lewis with the Union backing that underpinned his years of success.
The former head coach has also looked ahead to a tough autumn for Wales against Japan , New Zealand and Australia , and explained why keeping it tight against the All Blacks is the only way to stay in the fight.
The Nucleus
Are Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan the Nucleus to Build Around?
Those are the sort of guys that you want in a national team. You hope you've got guys that are going to be around for a few years. Like I said, this rebuilding process, if it takes a bit of time, those guys could be better for a team in four years' time. Not this World Cup , but the next World Cup when they are in their late twenties or early thirties.
We've seen Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan move to Gloucester , and Gloucester are really riding high at the moment. You go into a World Cup with players that have got fifty, sixty caps under their belt, a large contingent of the team in their late twenties, early thirties; that's where you want to get to. That's the transition or the planning around how you go about doing that.
The Glory Years
Was There a Magic Formula to Your First Wales Spell?
I think I had really good people to work with, quality people. I got amazing support from the Union. It started with Roger Lewis . I think when I arrived there, the Union was about £60m in debt, and I think when I left in 2019, they had basically cleared the debt. He saw the national team as the cash cow, so he wanted to do everything he could to support that. He was fantastic. We didn't always agree on everything, and we had some good lively debates, but it was a really healthy relationship and the support he gave me and the team was fantastic.
That's kind of what you hope is going to happen with this team going forward. It's difficult because everything's spread so thinly now; you've got the community game, the women's program, the twenties, the academies, funding the four regions. If you don't get crowds and you're not successful, it's going to be tough. Probably, I had that generation of players that came through, and when you lose one or two, you bring one or two in, and the transition becomes easy.
But on a number of occasions at board meetings I did say, look, we're just plugging a hole in the ship. When the dam bursts, it's going to take a long time. There were issues underneath that needed to be addressed, and unfortunately, we were probably covering them up.
The Autumn
How Might Wales Fare This Autumn?
Japan is an important game for them. New Zealand will always be tough. But New Zealand has got a lot of injuries at the moment, and I think there's probably that opportunity for Dave Rennie , thinking about strength and depth in his squad, which is what South Africa have been doing. There'll be a number of players at the moment who aren't available for the All Blacks . And Australia had a really good start under Les Kiss , and they'd be disappointed with the last two games against the All Blacks .
The thing about the All Blacks is that when you're in a tight game, they actually tend to be a bit more conservative. You want to put scoreboard pressure on them. If it's tight, they tend to be a bit more conservative, kick a bit more.
But once they hit 15 or 20 points out in front, and the shackles come off, then you could be in a world of pain. You've got to keep things as tight as you possibly can against the All Blacks .
I think the test for Wales is if they can beat Japan and then go out and perform well against Argentina ; I think that's what they really need to challenge themselves with.
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