Warren Gatland says he relishes the high-pressure stakes of international sport as Wales strive to avoid a first Guinness Six Nations wooden spoon for 21 years.
Gatland oversaw Six Nations titles triumphs, Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-final appearances during his trophy-laden first stint as Wales head coach from 2007 to 2019.
He returned to the role as Wayne Pivac’s successor ahead of last season’s Six Nations, with Wales finishing fifth on that occasion.
But if Wales fail to beat Principality Stadium visitors Italy on Saturday, then they will prop up the final table, which has not happened since Gatland’s fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen was in charge for the 2003 campaign.
Asked about the pressure, Gatland said: “I love it. You find out about people in weeks like this when you are under a bit of pressure, how you respond to that pressure, who is going to put their hand up, who is going to accept the responsibility.
“You find out so much more about individuals when you are under pressure.
“And that is what international sport and professional sport is all about, whether you are playing for Grand Slams or you are at the other end of the table and fighting for survival and fighting to make sure we get a win on the weekend.
“I am still learning about the game, still asking questions about things that you would do differently and how you would prepare differently.
“If you think you know everything, then you are probably in the wrong thing. Things keep moving on, and it is looking at the game and the changes and trying to stay in front of those changes and being proactive about those sort of things.”
Gatland’s squad rebuilding process is under way, one that was underlined by Test retirements last year of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny – their fellow cap centurion George North will follow after the Six Nations – Louis Rees-Zammit quitting rugby for a possible American football career, Liam Williams playing in Japan, plus injuries to players like Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Taulupe Faletau.
“You tend to go back and look a little bit at history,” Gatland added.
“You can go back as far as 2003, which probably wasn’t the best year for Welsh rugby, but two years later that team won the Grand Slam.
“It does take a bit of time. You can’t coach experience. Players learn from being out in the middle. They make mistakes, but it is how you rectify those mistakes for them to be better the next time.
“We know where we are as a group. This group of players have worked incredibly hard and I can’t question the effort.
“Looking at some of the statistical data in terms of GPS numbers, they are very good. There is no way they are not trying out there.
“Both winning and losing become habits, and we’ve got to break that. We are desperate for a win on Saturday.
“We are desperate to go out there and start well and continue to play well for 80 minutes to show as a group we have been improving.”
North will bow out of the international game following a career that saw him help Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and play in four World Cups.
The 31-year-old back, who will play for French club Provence next season, has scored 47 tries for Wales – a figure only bettered by Shane Williams – and he is his country’s third most-capped player behind Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins.
Gatland added: “He was probably thinking to himself when was the right time (to retire) from a physical point of view.
“We would have loved for him to still be involved, but the conversation with him was that he didn’t want to continue playing for the next couple of years and then potentially leave us in a bit of a hole 12 months out from a World Cup.
“I completely understood his decision with him going to France and taking the family with him.
“It is not completely a surprise to me because we had already had a couple of conversations. We would have loved to have had a player of his ability still to be involved, but at some stage everyone calls time.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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