Gatland satisfied with hard working Wales win over England 

After stating in midweek that his side would be looking to ‘surprise a few people’ in September’s World Cup in France, Gatland heaped praise on stand-in Wales captain Jac Morgan whose man-of-the-match performance helped guide his country to victory over Steve Borthwick’s side.

Having trailed 9-6 at half-time. A powerful Welsh showing after the break took the game away from England with both George North and Gareth Davies going over to score tries for the home side who produced a dominant showing.

The trusty boot of Lee Halfpenny sealing the victory with 10 points on his 100^th cap.

As Gatland looks to nail down his 33-man squad and opening side to face Fiji in Wales World Cup opener on 10 September in Bordeaux, the Kiwi feels his side is moving in the right direction but there is still work to be done. 

“It was a good start but there’s still lots to work on. It was pleasing to get the result. We had an excellent second-half. Getting some debuts and those scores was the most pleasing aspect about it,” said Gatland.

“I know the players have been working hard and I was looking for a performance and it was a good start today. The boys have shown in the last eight weeks that they are in a pretty good place physically.

“Winning wasn’t important at all, it was the performance I was most interested in and thought those guys out there gave us a performance. 

“There were some good individuals on show and the last 20 minutes we just looked comfortable.” 

“I thought Jac [Morgan] was outstanding. Aaron Wainwright probably had his best game in a Wales jersey. We’ve spoken a lot about Jac and where he’ll play.

“There’s good competition there with Tommy Reffell and Taine Basham. Going forward, it’s about making sure we have that balance of physicality and size that’s needed in the back-row.

“If we were to name a starting team tomorrow [for Fiji] then we’d probably only have about three names nailed on.

“In 2019 when we won the Grand Slam, we had a settled side, and we knew what a large number of our World Cup squad was going to be.

“I can tell now there is a lot of competition out there. The team today did exceptionally well, and the players put a marker down. For the players next week, it will be a good challenge for them.

“It was a good start, today we are in a good place, and it will give a lot of confidence. The most pleasing thing is that there’s a group of players next week who will be just as desperate to perform. It is a nice situation to be in.” 

(Lead image Wales Rugby Union)