Warren Gatland insists Wales are not thinking about England and backs his side to win the fitness battle

Wales' injury-ravaged squad has seen Gatland name an unchanged starting XV

Wednesday 07 February 2018 10:40 GMT

Gatland is backing his side to outlast England on Saturday (Getty)

Warren Gatland has backed his Wales side to prove they are fitter than their England counterparts at Twickenham this weekend and insists the camp aren’t “talking too much” about Eddie Jones’ team.

Wales haven’t beaten England since helping knock them out of their home World Cup in 2015 and haven’t experienced victory in the Six Nations since the historic 30-3 win at the Millennium Stadium which saw the Welsh end their rivals’ Grand Slam hopes and clinch the title in 2013.

A late try from Elliot Daly broke Welsh hearts last year when he punished Jonathan Davies’ poor kick to see England snatch the win but Gatland is adamant his team have the fitness to outlast the English this time around.

Six Nations team of the weekend

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1/15Six Nations team of the weekend

Six Nations team of the weekend

Mako Vunipola (England)

Took the fight to Simone Ferrari in the scrum and it was by far his best performance in the set-piece this season. The loosehead by his own admission has not been at his best, but this weekend saw a marked improvement in his play, and his offloading in the tackle also came to the fore in a well-rounded display.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Guilhem Guirado (France)

His lineout throws were a bit iffy, which any hooker can’t afford against Ireland, but his enormous defensive effort sees him included as a must-have. 31 tackles proved the skipper led by example, and he looked distraught come the final whistle after so nearly pulling off a major shock.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Dan Cole (England)

The English scrum dominated the Italian pack and a lot of that was to do with Cole’s power at tighthead. But the Leicester Tigers prop also impressed in the loose, with a neat offload in the lead-up to England’s third try.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Cory Hill (Wales)

Took full advantage of Jake Ball’s absence to put in a destructive shift as the Scottish defence twice fell off him to see the lock power through the line. Looks to be a real find for Wales that compliments the experience and nous of Alun Wyn Jones alongside him.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

James Ryan (Ireland)

The Leinster man starred on his Six Nations debut, taking on the bulk of the Irish ball carries and putting in a shift defensively too – making 12 tackles without conceding a penalty. The young lock looks to have a bright future at this level.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Aaron Shingler (Wales)

The blindside flanker caught the eye in the loose as he supported well and also displayed a passing ability to offload in the tackle that kept Wales on the front foot. He also disrupted the Scottish possession in the ruck – though was caught out twice by referee Pascal Gauzere.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Josh Navidi (Wales)

The Welsh assembly line of openside flankers continues to deliver outstanding individuals as the Cardiff Blues forward wreaked havoc at the breakdown and also showed his ability to offload the ball which was demonstrated in Evans’ score. Dan Leavy also deserves a mention for his impact off the Ireland bench in replacing Josh van der Flier.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Sam Simmonds (England)

Making his Six Nations debut, Simmonds rose to the top in Rome to show his merits on full display. The Exeter Chiefs back-row showed his rugby brain with his first try, storming through a maul after Italy had splintered, before using his phenomenal pace to score his second, and he deserves to go down as the standout performer of the round.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Gareth Davies (Wales)

The Scarlets scrum-half had been built up as someone to watch coming into the match, and sure enough he delivered. Scotland had their backs up when Davies plucked an Ali Price pass from the ruck out of the air and sprinted 60m to open the scoring, and from there, Wales never looked back.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

Very harsh on both Rhys Patchell and Finn Russell, who both played well in Cardiff, but how could you leave Sexton out after his match-winning display in Paris. Not only did his 42m drop-goal break French hearts, but it was his ability to get Ireland into a position to have a shot at winning the match and, most remarkably, the nerve to play an inch-perfect cross-field kick to Keith Earls when the clock was already red.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Steff Evans (Wales)

A brilliant one-handed finish in the corner sealed the bonus-point victory for Wales, and the wing so nearly had a second but just couldn’t collect Alun Wyn Jones’ offload under the posts. Evans made more metres than anyone else in round one and Warren Gatland faces a tough decision whether to bring George North straight back in or not.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Owen Farrell (England)

The vice-captain’s partnership with George Ford was at its very best as they out-thought Italy with some lovely backs play. Farrell was twice the link for Ford to wrap around that led to Watson’s two scores, before he bagged a try of his own after a dummy pass opened up space in front of him. He capped it all off by setting up Ford with another break, and it was a really impressive showing from the centre.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Remi Lamerat (France)

The outside centre makes the team largely due to his defensive effort at keeping the lively Irish back line at bay. Johnny Sexton’s trademark loop meant that the ball regularly came down Lamerat’s channel, but he stood up to the challenge and also had his hand in the lead up to Thomas’s try.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Anthony Watson (England)

Maintained on the wing, Watson was over the line inside three minutes to get England off on the right foot. The Bath wing needed a good finish to touch down in the corner for his first, but his second try eight minutes later came from him unleashing his speed and a neat little move to fix Tommaso Boni that gave him the space to surge down the touchline and score in the same corner. An honourable mention too to Teddy Thomas for his lovely, mazy finish in Paris.

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Six Nations team of the weekend

Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)

Had Liam Williams been fit, Halfpenny may not have played, but as fate had it the full-back was given the chance to show why he remains deserving of a place in the Wales squad and took it with both hands. Two tries – the first a smart finish to deceive the Scottish defence – and a 100 per cent record with the boot to claim 24 points capped a virtuoso performance.

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“We don’t have any fear about going up there and playing,” Gatland said. “We are excited about it and not intimidated by the Twickenham factor at all.

“There are a lot of guys in the squad that will go there with a lot of confidence. In the past we’ve backed our ability to play for 80 minutes and we’ve felt we’ve been fitter than the English sides.

“We’ve had success playing right until the end against them. If it’s a close game then hopefully that confidence can boost us. England are strong at set-piece, scrum and line-out, with some attacking threats as well.

“I don’t see a massive amount of change in what we’ve experienced in the past. We are not talking too much about England.”

Wales’ surprise 34-7 demolition of Scotland in their Six Nations opener means they are only two games away from a Triple Crown and Gatland believes winning at Twickenham could propel them towards contenders to win a Grand Slam.

“We said if you start well, you go to Twickenham, and if you can get a result there, you are going to Dublin for a Triple Crown and potentially playing for the championship,” said Gatland. “We know how important this weekend is.”

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