Wales’ Six Nations squad selection is sparking plenty of debate as Warren Gatland faces tough decisions ahead of the tournament.
With a mix of experienced stars and rising talents vying for places, can Gatland find the perfect balance to mount a serious challenge?
With a mix of experienced stars and rising talents vying for places, can Gatland find the perfect balance to mount a serious challenge?
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00:00Well, Charles, we are edging ever closer to the start of this year's Six Nations tournament.
00:06Of course, Wales last year picking up that wooden spoon, it was a dreadful campaign for
00:11them losing the majority of their games, even to Italy, who of course are, well, they never
00:16tend to win many games, but they did beat Wales last time and that just showed just
00:20how far Welsh rugby has fallen in recent times as well. Of course, they went on that long
00:25losing streak under Warren Gatton, breaking records, and it's been a really tough time.
00:30But this year they have a chance, of course, a fresh start to right a lot of the wrongs
00:35that they experienced last year. Their squad is now out and as I say there, we are getting
00:40ever closer to the tournament beginning. I can't see them perhaps as winners this year.
00:45You have to think that Ireland are still probably the favourites, England perhaps as well, even
00:50Francis Stumpf, not a bad side. But for Wales, it very much is a case of just not being as
00:55bad as I think they were last year. How does the squad reflect and how does it look going
01:00into the tournament? Do you think they've got that capability to at least not come bottom
01:04of the table?
01:05Yes, there's obviously huge pressure on Warren Gatland. I mean, he goes into his 13th Six
01:13Nations campaign with Wales. I mean, that's quite an achievement in itself. It's really
01:17impressive to go that far and go into so many. I mean, that just shows the level of experience
01:23that he's got at this high level competing in this tournament. I mean, it's such a tough
01:27tournament in terms of the way rugby goes. And we've mentioned before, obviously, it's
01:32something that they have to improve on last year. There's no doubt about that. Can they
01:37is another question. I mean, there are a few surprise names in there. There are obviously
01:41a few players who previously in Welsh rugby, the rule, the sort of unheard of, unwritten
01:48rule was if you played in England as your club, as your club team, then you would be
01:54sort of looked at a bit differently to teams or players that played in Wales. Players that
02:01played in Wales would have got a huge favour in terms of their selection for tournaments,
02:06whether it be the World Cup or the Six Nations. Gatland's sort of thrown that out this time
02:11and sort of gone, you know, we don't really care who they're playing for as long as they're
02:15playing at a good level and they're playing a lot of rugby, then they're going to be with
02:19a chance. I mean, obviously, the pressure on his job is, you know, there's no doubt
02:24about that. It's on the line and he needed to pick a group of 34 to really sort of keep
02:31him in the job. I mean, it's a massive tournament ahead. You know, a few questions still need
02:36to be asked. The tighthead prop, which has been a conundrum for Wales in recent years,
02:43is still, there's three or four names involved with that, I believe. And, you know, you can
02:47sort of argue all day and tear your hair out about who's actually going to be competing
02:51there. Wales fans are hoping for more improvement on 2024, as you say, and to get them over
02:57the line in this year's tournament.