Wales’ head coach admitted after the 25-21 defeat to unbeaten England that he had contemplated making changes after 25 minutes because he was so baffled by the lack of energy shown by his team. In the end, though, they shrugged off a 19 point deficit to close the gap to a mere four as they outscored their hosts by three tries to one.
That set up a thrilling final play from Wales, but despite reaching the home 22 they were unable to grab the fourth try they needed to win the game.
“I was going to make some changes after 25 minutes! I thought some guys came off the bench and did a really good job for us – Ken Owens was outstanding in the way he carried the ball and gave us some go-forward,” said Gatland.
“I felt a little bit sorry for Dan Biggar – I thought he was trying really hard in the first half and we just didn’t have a lot of ball. We got a bit of momentum and Rhys Webb gave us some variation and Rhys Priestland played flat and wide and put the ball through his hands beautifully.
“We started to put England under some pressure in that last 15-20 minutes and just kept hold of the ball, which was nice to see. We weren’t as accurate as we needed to be in that first half, with balls going down and guys running funny lines.
“We need to look at potentially an opportunity for players against Italy and to try to continue to develop the depth in the squad as well. It may be a case of making a few changes, but we’ve also got to be smart in the way we do things because if England beat France to win the Grand Slam, then we are playing for second and that’s pretty important.”
Wales missed nine tackles in the first-half of the game as England enjoyed 80% of the territory as they built-up a 16 point lead. With eight penalties conceded in the first 40 minutes, Wales were always on the back foot and
Owen Farrell punished them with his unerring boot as he ended the game with 20 points and a 100% goalkicking record.
The second half saw the English lead build to 19-0 and then 25-7 with 13 minutes left to play. The late rally from the Welsh team was helped by the yellow card issued to England prop Dan Cole in the 72nd minute.
“I can’t explain why the players were so flat in the first-half. I gave them a rev up at half-time and said you need some enthusiasm, some energy out there,” admitted Gatland.
“It’s not acceptable if there was a lack of energy or effort in that first half. We need to just find out why that was or why they felt a bit flat. You talk to individuals to ask those questions because at this level, when there is so much at stake, you’ve got to have the right emotional state as you take the field.
“We will be pretty thorough in terms of questioning our preparation for the week and what we could have done better as coaches and management, while the players hopefully are pretty honest about their own performance, particularly in that first half.
“I sent the message on after 25 minutes, asking do we need to make changes and get some fresh legs on there. It was really unlike us – it was a really poor first 40 minutes.
“England had something like 80 per cent territory and possession, but then we showed what we are capable of doing in the second half. So it was a real game of two halves.
“I’ve said to the players that only they can answer the question why they were so flat or lethargic in that first half because we trained well all week. It was a massive game, so much to play for, so much on the line and unfortunately we didn’t turn up for those first 40 minutes.
“We prepared the same as we normally do and I’ve said to the players about them being honest with themselves, looking at the video, just seeing why we were so flat at the start. At this level, it is just not acceptable as far as I am concerned and I am very disappointed.
“Again, we rectified things and scored three tries to one and played some pretty good rugby in the second half. We gave away a few soft penalties and had a chance to sneak it at the end.
“I would like to have a closer look to see if George North was out or not. It’s a pretty big call to make if he wasn’t.
“England are always a tough side – I think this is the 12th time I have played against them and we have won six and lost six. They have been knocking on the door for the last three or four years and haven’t been able to get across the line and they came out with what we expected from them.
“They were accurate and strong on the ball and put us under some pressure. Unfortunately, we didn’t respond in that first half, which was really disappointing from our point of view. It was much better in the second half.
“They are a good side with a huge amount of depth, but it is always no more than a score or two between the two teams.”
Wales’ defensive frailties in the first half – they only missed a handful of tackles in the second half – were very much out of character and led to some strong words in the dressing room at half-time.
“We spoke at half-time and Shaun (Edwards) said it’s about making sure you get the emotional state right. We looked flat and we played that way in the first half and that reflects on your line-speed defensively,” added Gatland.
“We weren’t coming off the line, we got caught on our heels on a few occasions, we got beaten by some footwork and they punished us. We were falling off tackles but, even as poorly as we played, I said to Shaun that if we hadn’t conceded that try, after Dan Biggar’s charge down we could have conceivable only been 12-7 down with game on.
“We have missed a few tackles, which is unlike us, and that has put us under some pressure. I’m not taking anything away from England, I thought they were outstanding and deserved to win the game – good luck to them.
“I thought they were more desperate than we were and seemed to want it a bit more. Owen Farrell has done a great job in kicking their goals and they have been able to hang on to win it.”
Injured skipper Sam Warburton, who came off the field on a stretcher after 56 minutes after crashing into Alun Wyn Jones knee, was sitting up in the dressing room afterwards – “He’s just got a knock, he will go through the concussion protocol this week.”
