Warren Gatland says he is excited about developing a new generation of talent that will start with this season’s Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Gatland has named five uncapped players in his squad for the tournament, with 21-year-old Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins taking over from an injured Jac Morgan as captain.
Morgan and his World Cup co-skipper Dewi Lake are long-term absentees, while injury has also sidelined number eight Taulupe Faletau, star wing Louis Rees-Zammit has quit rugby to try and forge a career in American football, and the likes of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny have retired from Test rugby.
Almost half of Gatland’s 34-strong squad have not yet hit double figures in terms of caps, and that collective inexperience has contributed to Wales being written off in many quarters as genuine Six Nations contenders.
“What I have looked at with where we are at right now is we have a group of really talented young players and a couple who are injured at the moment in Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, who I think are going to be world-class,” said Wales head coach Gatland, speaking at the Six Nations media launch in Dublin.
“I see this as a chance to mould some talented youngsters and give them an opportunity to take control of how they want this team to operate in terms of working with the coaches and setting standards. That is what really excites me.
“We go into the Six Nations with people probably not having too much expectation on us or writing us off, and that is always a nice position to be in.
“It is often said about Wales that you write us off at your peril, because we will work incredibly hard.
“It’s one game at a time, and if we start well against Scotland we will build confidence and momentum. The thing with Welsh players is they become incredibly tough to beat, and that is what I am pinning my hopes on anyway.”
Although Welsh regional rugby is currently operating in a testing financial climate that continues to hit all four professional teams, Gatland is upbeat about developing a largely new-look playing group.
Wales kick off their campaign against Scotland on February 3 – then face successive appointments with England, Ireland and France – and Gatland knows that momentum is key.
“There is a bit of doom and gloom, and people will take that narrative, but I don’t see it like that,” he added.
“I see it as a reset of the regions financially, with the support of the union (Welsh Rugby Union), and the 19, 20 and 21-year-olds now have an opportunity they wouldn’t have had in the past.
“Of all the Tier One nations we are the one with the smallest playing base, so when we see some talent sometimes we’ve got to expose them and see if you can fast-track them.
“It is not about age or experience, it is about allowing that talent to develop.
“It is definitely thinking about the future – not just for this cycle and the next World Cup, but the one after.
“We’ve got five new caps and eight who have never played in the Six Nations. They will learn and develop from that experience, but that doesn’t mean we are not taking the competition seriously.
“Our first game against Scotland is incredibly important. It is one game at a time, and the first one is hugely-important for us at home.”
Paris Olympics: Home hero Dupont sends France into rugby sevens semi-finals
Antoine Dupont sealed hosts France's progression to the rugby sevens semi-finals as his late try clinched victory over Argentina at the Paris Olympics.
Dupont, voted the 2021 World Player of the Year, missed out on this year's Six Nations to prepare himself for the sevens at the Games.
And he scored a brilliant solo try in the dying seconds at a jam-packed Stade de France to wrap up a 26-14 triumph over Argentina on Thursday.
Aaron Grandidier had earlier crossed the line twice along with back-rower Andy Timo's opener in a dominant first half, though Argentina fought back after the break.
Rodrigo Isgro responded for Los Pumas before Marcos Moneta sneaked over after France were reduced to six when Jordan Sepho was sin-binned.
Yet home favourite Dupont stepped up in the decisive moment, whipping the crowd into frenzy after setting up a last-four meeting against South Africa, who overcame New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
South Africa finished third in Pool A as New Zealand topped the group, but the Springboks exacted revenge against the All Blacks to secure a semi-final berth.
The Springboks raced into a two-try lead before holding out for a 14-7 victory to stun one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Fiji, champions in 2016 when the event was first introduced and four years later in Tokyo, unexpectedly found themselves up against it as Chay Mullins bundled over twice to snatch a 10-7 lead for Ireland at half-time.
Zac Ward extended the Irish lead but two tries in less than 30 seconds from Selestino Ravutaumada and Terio Tamani snatched a 19-15 turnaround.
The two-time Olympic champions will meet Australia after the Wallabies downed the United States with ease.
Corey Toole and James Turner both crossed in the first half en route to a convincing 18-0 triumph in the final match of the day, sending Australia into their first rugby sevens semi-final at the Olympics.
Australia 40-29 Georgia: Schmidt lays down gauntlet ahead of Rugby Championship opener
Joe Schmidt has said he remains unsure about some of his Australia players following their 40-29 victory over Georgia at Sydney Football Stadium.
Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight scored doubles for the hosts, with Australia surviving a red card picked up by Filipo Daugunu for a knee to the head of Sandro Todua to maintain the Wallabies' new head coaches unbeaten start.
Schmidt made 10 changes to the side that beat Wales last Saturday in Melbourne, with some taking the opportunity with both hands, while others fell short.
"Some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need a bit of work," Schmidt said.
"Some guys are delivering really consistent training performances and pushing for match day selection. Whether you're playing Georgia or next time we come out in Brisbane, it will be South Africa.
"We have a number of players who we're not sure about, who is maybe the best option in a particular position or who's the best combination."
Australia led 26-10 at the break, and although Georgia rallied in the second half, the home side triumphed in only the third meeting between the pair.
Hunter Paisami and Isaac Kailea went over the line early on, but Dauganu's sending off allowed Georgia a way back into the contest.
The visitors closed to within two points of Australia with two scintillating tries early in the second half through Davit Niniashvili and Akaki Tabutsadze.
However, their challenge faded as Niniashvili was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, as McReight and Valetini secured three successive wins for the first time since late 2021.
“It is only three weeks that we’ve been together and we made 10 changes and we knew there was an element of risk in that,” Schmidt said.
“But I like the way we built our way into the game, bar the early three points.
“We put a few nice tries together and built a lead, but it was really disappointing that they got back into the game and we were scrambling just a little bit.”
The Wallabies next face world champions South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on August 10.
New Zealand 47-5 Fiji: Barrett seeking improvements despite resounding win
New Zealand captain Scott Barrett insists improvements will be made despite the All Blacks easing to a 47-5 win over Fiji in San Diego.
Scott Robertson's men scored seven tries at the Snapdragon Stadium in a side that included six debutants from their 2–0 series win over England last week.
The All Blacks led 26-5 at half-time, but Fiji still managed to restrict their opponents to the lowest score of their eight Test encounters.
"Fiji certainly showed up tonight in the physical areas," said captain Barrett. "It wasn't fully polished, we have pretty high standards in this team.
"They were able to get their hands on the ball to turn it over at times but we created enough opportunities to turn into points."
Caleb Clarke and Cortez Ratima scored converted tries in the opening exchanges, before Vilimoni Botitu notched Fiji's only try of the contest.
Sevu Reece would increase the All Blacks' advantage in the second half, before George Bell, on his debut, went over for the final try of the encounter.
The result maintains New Zealand's eight-game winning run, with head coach Scott Robertson nodding to the future following impressive performances from his debutants.
“Keeping them to five points is pretty special," Robertson said. "We scored some great tries, we left a lot out there.
"I’m really proud of a lot of efforts and the six debutants who really stood up.
“It was exciting to see how that talent went. They showed why we picked them. We’ve had seven debutants over the three games.
"It’s been intense with the travel coming over here. I’m pleased everyone has learnt quickly and been incredibly professional off the field.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
