Six Nations 2023: Warren Gatland names Wales side early as he aims to focus on rugby

We were always expecting an early surprise from returning Wales head coach Warren Gatland for the first game of his second stint in charge.

Gatland had more than one reason for doing so.

He had settled on his 23-man squad to face Andy Farrell’s men on Saturday in Cardiff and wanted to make it public.

Gatland also admitted to an element of wanting to turn the attention back to his squad for their Six Nations opener after more than a week of turbulence off the field for his under-fire Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) employers.

“Part of that [early selection] is so we can just talk about rugby as well,” he said.

“It’s been quite hard, but the important thing is looking forward to playing at home in the stadium and hopefully everyone’s focus in the next couple of days can be on the rugby side of things.”

The WRU has found itself under intense scrutiny after a BBC Wales Investigates programme brought up allegations of sexism and misogyny within the union.

In its wake chief executive Steve Phillips resigned with Nigel Walker taking over on an interim basis.

Walker has stated the WRU’s future is at stake if changes are not made.

This comes against the backdrop of Wales starting the Six Nations campaign in Cardiff against the number-one-ranked side in the world.

The Principality Stadium encounter kicks off Gatland’s second stint as Wales head coach.

His previous reign, between 2008 and 2019, was interrupted in 2013 and 2017 by Gatland taking on the role of British and Irish Lions boss.

But during the 11 years in which Gatland became synonymous with Wales, they won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and reached two World Cup semi-finals and a quarter-final.

Now he hopes his side can make the Welsh public proud.

“The way that these guys have been this week, I am confident that they’ll go out there and demonstrate how much it means for them to put their red jersey on and how much it means for them to play for Wales,” said Gatland.

“I think it’s important we go out there and give a performance. I’m comfortable with losing if we get beaten by a better side.

“But what I won’t tolerate from the players and what I expect is that when they come off and they look themselves in the mirror, they can say ‘god, I tried really hard today’ and, if those fans can see those players out there giving 100%, then that’s all I can ask for as a coach and that’s all that I think the fans can expect.”

Experience tells

There is a lot of continuity with Gatland picking 12 of the starting side that former coach Wayne Pivac selected in his last game, the 38-34 defeat by Australia.

There is also a lot of experience, with Wales’ oldest captain Ken Owens leading the side at 36 and world-record cap holder Alun Wyn Jones, 37, in the second row.

In all, there are eight players in the starting side aged 30 or over with a further four among the replacements.

“I want them to be vocal and transfer that information they’ve got from a number of years on how to prepare and how to train,” said Gatland.

“It’s been pleasing. I’ve been pleasantly surprised just how quickly with how the coaches have fitted in and how the players have taken on the information in the first few days.

“To be honest, I was a little bit worried about how that was going to work. It’s worked 100 times better than I thought.

“The players have been brilliant and the attitude has been terrific in terms of the way they’ve trained and prepared. I think we’re in a good place at the moment.

Gatland added: “It is [an experienced team]. It’s about potentially sending a statement in terms of starting off.

“We know what’s at stake with the Six Nations and the history of it, and past successes of Welsh teams in this tournament and doing well.

“You build on that and you build confidence, into the latter part of the year, which is so important in a World Cup year.

“There’s definitely two focuses for us. We want to do well, but we’ve also got an eye on the end of the year too.”