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Warren Gatland knows all about British and Irish Lions tours, a 2-1 success over Australia in 2013, was followed by a drawn series with New Zealand in 2017.
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And ahead of Wales’ clash with England, he was in no doubt who should lead the team to South Africa in 2021 – Eddie Jones.
He certainly upped the ante on Jones with his tour prediction.
“He’d do a great job as Lions coach. 3-0 would be expected. It’s probably the easiest of the three tours isn’t it?” Gatland said with a chuckle.
Gatland was in jovial form, poking fun at his upcoming opponents. He was asked about the England players who’d represented the British & Irish Lions during his two-tour tenure and whether there had been a noticeable difference in them having been under the influence of Jones.
“I didn’t notice, because it was the first time we’d had a few English players!” he quipped.
But Gatland did reserve special praise for one player from his 2017 tour – Owen Farrell.
“I think he’s world class. The reason I say that is because I saw it on the Lions. He will go through a bad patch but then he turns up and puts those disappointments behind him to nail a big moment. That’s what world class players do. From a leadership point of view, directing that team around the pitch.”
Warren Gatland feels Wales will be fully equipped to deal with England and Twickenham.
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His side will be buoyed by their impressive 34-7 win over Scotland.
The New Zealander has taken scalps at Twickenham before, notably in the group stage of the 2015 World Cup, but you have to go back to 2012 for their last 6 Nations success.
“We don’t have any fear about going up there, we’re excited. Go there with confidence and self-belief. We trained against England in the autumn and that was good. It’s about being prepared to play at a high intensity. Play with composure and patience and that’s the key. Not being intimidated by the Twickenham factor at all. There are a lot of guys in this squad who will go there with a lot of confidence.”
The Welsh head coach has made just one change to his 23-man squad, with George North replacing Owen Watkin among the replacements.
