Warren Gatland's Wales: Out to Shock the Doubters

Coach Warren Gatland is relying on some returning veterans to guide his young Wales squad in the Six Nations and cultivate a siege mentality following a team-record 12-game losing streak that has plunged the country's rugby into a crisis. Gatland earlier this month conceded that his job was on the line after a horror 2024 in which his side lost all five Six Nations matches and conceded 143 points.Things won't get easier immediately with a trip to France for their 2025 opener on Jan. 31, before another away fixture in Italy eight days later. In between, they will hold a training camp in Nice. Wales host Ireland and England in Cardiff, and also travel to Scotland in their other fixtures. "There is no expectation on us," Gatland told reporters on Tuesday at the launch of this year's competition. "People are writing us off, but I have said this before, you write us off at your peril." We have to create some confidence and self-belief within our group. We need to create a siege mentality."Since the World Cup, we have lost a lot of experience, and when you bring in youngsters, it takes a bit of time." But the pleasing thing for this campaign is we welcome back some experience in [No. 8 Taulupe] Faletau, [winger] Josh Adams, [fullback] Liam Williams, and [lock] Dafydd Jenkins." That adds a little bit of strength in depth back into the squad, but seeing some of the youngsters develop is going to be a real positive as well." Gatland knows a good start is essential for his side and believes that despite Wales' poor form, any opponent is beatable. "It is definitely a tournament of [building] momentum and confidence. If you win a couple of games early on, you can build on that and then you have a chance of doing exceptionally well." What I think is exciting about the Six Nations, and it has taken a while, is that every team is capable of beating any other on the day if you get things right. It is the strongest I have ever seen the competition in terms of the quality of players and teams.