He believes his young players have learned a huge amount during their preparations and the games during the competition.
Speaking after their third place play-off defeat in Auckland he said:”We’re disappointed but we have a lot of positives to take out of this tournament.
“The players will have learnt a massive amount from this competition. We have just played one of the best teams in the world and scored two tries against them. Our players have been through a lot and the players will definitely be stronger for the experience.”
Gatland acknowledged mistakes were made against Australia but praised the efforts of his team.
He said: ”I couldn’t have asked any more than they have put in and given in this tournament. We’ll take a huge amount of positives out of what we have come here and achieved.”
His words were echoed by assistant coach Shaun Edwards who spoke of his pride in the whole squad.
He said: “I take a lot of pride from the way the lads have behaved both on and off the field in the past few weeks. They have played with skill and creativity along with a never say die attitude. They have all shown true commitment to the cause and coped with a lot of pressure along the way.”
Captain Gethin Jenkins admitted the team were disappointed with the result at Eden Park but echoed the coaches’ congratulations to the players for the way they had performed during the tournament.
Jenkins said: “We can take a lot of positives from this World Cup and from the game tonight because Australia are a very dangerous team.”
