"I don't think it was a complete bad night at the office"- The Talking Points: Warren Gatland and Jac Morgan react to Wales' thumping defeat to France
Today at 02:51 AM
Wales suffered a record Six Nations loss against France at the Stade de France and it was the first time in the history of the Six Nations that Wales have failed to score a point. This defeat was also the 13th consecutive defeat for Wales.
This 43-0 defeat just adds to the realisation of where the Welsh senior side are at the moment and now you seriously begin to ask yourself whether time is running out for Warren Gatland as head coach of Wales.
Wales were simply outclassed in the French capital last night as Fabien Galthie's men secured the bonus inside the opening 40 minutes. Wingers Theo Attisogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey each scored a brace as forwards Julien Marchand and Player of the Match Gregory Alldritt also scored with replacement Emilien Gailleton also crossing. After missing last year’s Six Nations due to the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont showed his brilliance, causing chaos with numerous attacking opportunities.
Below are the talking points from the post-match press conference which went late into the Parisian night.
"I don't think it was a complete bad night at the office- Gatland on his sides 43-0 loss to France.
The opening 15 minutes for the visitors looked promising as they had a significant amount of possession. However, as soon as Attisogbe crossed over it was like the floodgates had began to open. Perhaps that wasn't helped by hooker, Evan Lloyd being yellow carded for a high tackle. On his sides overall performance, Gatland insisted: “I can’t question the effort of the players.
“They are disappointed. They realise what a quality side they were up against.
“I don’t think it was a complete bad night at the office. There were times when we had them under pressure and didn’t capitalise.
“We started well, but when we look back we have put ourselves under pressure at times by over-playing.”
“That is the game-management the players will learn from tonight.
The winning streak continues for France against Wales
It was no easy introduction for Wales going into this year's Championship and they have still yet to record a win over the Les Bleus since 2019 in Japan. Also in the press conference after the match, returning Captain Jac Morgan openly admiting "It was going to be a tough game".
The 25-year-old continued: "Obviously we know how good France are.
“We spoke about going after them, attacking them in the start and put pressure and I think we did that well. If you make a couple mistakes against like France, they will punish you and thats what they did at times today.
Injury concerns for both Watkin and Wainwright
Aaron Wainwright’s start to the Six Nations probably didn’t go the way he would have wanted it to, as he was replaced by Tommy Reffell just before three minutes. For inside centre, Owen Watkin limped off the pitch after the 25-minute mark after a collision in the centre of the pitch. Debutant Dan Edwards replaced him as Ben Thomas dropped into the 12 channel.
On both injured players, Gatland said: "They ain't looking good".
“Owen is in a brace with his knee, and it looks like it could be an ACL, and Aaron needs another HIA and has quite a nasty gash in his face down through his lip.”
"Next week becomes pretty important for us",- Gatland admits
Next for Wales is a trip to Rome, Italy, where they take on a completely different Azzurri side than they last played in 2023 at the Stadio Olimpico. Former Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar said that this is the biggest game in 15-20 years, and perhaps a win might potentially see Gatland's men dodge the Wooden Spoon for the second consecutive year.
“It is an important game for Wales,” said Gatland.
“Next week becomes pretty important for us. We can’t hide away from that. We need to get the monkey off our back.”
“The players have worked hard over the last couple of weeks and the players are aware of how important next week is,” said Gatland.
“We go to Nice tomorrow for the week and that’s going to be important for this group," Gatland concluded.
More post-match coverage will come your way here on Ruck Rugby as we catch up with Josh Adams and Tom Rogers. Stay Tuned.
The post "I don't think it was a complete bad night at the office"- The Talking Points: Warren Gatland and Jac Morgan react to Wales' thumping defeat to France appeared first on Ruck.
