6 NATION PREVIEW WITH IAN GOUGH
With the Six Nations coming up, Matty spoke with Penllergaer resident and former Welsh International Ian Gough to ask about how he saw the competition.
The Wales squad was announced this week with a couple of surprises in there, what do you make of the squad?
It’s quite exciting to be fair isn’t it, he’s taken a big squad really. I think there’s about 38 players there, but he’s taken plenty of youngsters and plenty of players from across the border. I think there are 5 uncapped players and quite exciting players as well. It’s lovely, as well to have Rhys Webb in there. Obviously he’s coming back to the Ospreys and they have opened up Wales selection for him. It just creates huge competition picking him in that scrum., There is some really exciting players in there who will get to experience playing for Wales under a different coach but it’s great to have some young players in there and some not so young.
Were you surprised to see Will Rowlands called in to the squad? You were a lock yourself do you know much about him?
Yeah i was surprised,but it’s great that we are exploring and that we can be using these talents because we can be a little insular in Wales and only see what’s on our doorstep. And maybe have the attitude of out of sight out of mind, but if somebody is performing and they’re Welsh and good enough and they add to the squads then great. The bar has been raised over the years by Warren Gartland, I suppose, but think it is fantastic to have him there and lets see what he can do.
I have always found it interesting in Wales that we have had the rule that to play for Wales you have to be playing in Wales but with 4 regions do you think this is realistic?
Do you know what, I like it. I think if you want to be playing for Wales then playing in Wales only makes our game stronger. The more strength in depth we have got the better. I don’t worry about anyone moving across the bridge to get more rugby, look what it did to Josh Adams, he’s one of our stand out players and he had to make his name in England because he didn’t cut it at the Scarlets. Leigh Halfpenny moved a few times between regions to get his chance. I don’t blame a player for going across the bridge but the quicker we can get a player to come back in a position of strength the better in my opinion.
What do you think Wales can expect to see under Wayne Pivac?
More importantly with Stephen Jones in there as well and the way Pivac played at the Scarlets it should help our attacking game which we have lacked a bit of. We have lacked a little bit of attacking edge at times, we have been a powerful side that grinds sides down as well but having that bit of attacking flair and given the players a structure and a freedom where they can really let loose is pretty exciting. We want to see some free flowing rugby but most of all we want to win. We have got Italy up first, who are a notorious banana skin, and a tough bit of competition. But if we can start scoring more tries, we have seen what Josh Adams can do over the last couple of years, imagine if that structure is more enhanced what he could do in there with more ball in hand.
What are your thoughts on bringing someone like North or Adams in the centre, do you think that would be a good option or would you look at playing someone like Owen Williams or Nick Tomkin in there?
I think it is ok to step up in regional rugby and play the odd game in centre but asking them to do it under the international pressure is a tough place to learn. If they have a run of games at centre and they are the best player in there then I have no issue with that but sometimes you have to throw the dice because of injuries and circumstances but I think they need to have games in that position. I think its a’ real ask’ to look at someone to do it. I know the likes of Liam Williams can play full back or wing it might be a bit easier to swap around the back three but going from the back three to the centres and the way teams are structured and defend etc it’s a very big ask.
When you have one of the best wingers in the world from the world cup in Josh Adams would you think it’s a strange move to move him from the wing where he’s been scoring so many tries?
I said the same sometimes about Liam Williams when they moved him to the wing that it seemed a strange decision but in the coaching set up they will know exactly what the players are doing and what they can do and can’t do but we are looking from the outside. They will monitor every training session and it will go through the laptop and analyze everything. If they think he is more than capable of playing centre then they will be in a position to know that but from the outside looking in, you wouldn’t want to take your most attacking try scorer out of position where he is a bit unfamiliar. In the end they will be making these big calls from a position of knowledge.
What do you think fans can expect this year under Wayne Pivac, we spoke before the world cup and you felt like perhaps Wales were going under the radar, I sort of feel a bit like that again now but I agree with you that it’s a very exciting squad, what do you think Welsh fans can hope for in the 6 nations?
You never know, I remember I was commentating for the France game and we were I think 19 points down at half time and we came back and turned it around and then we struggled against Italy but then we put a huge performance in against England and went on and won the thing, so we don’t mind going under the radar. For starters it’s the final position that we end up in that matters. It’s a different one this year because we have been used to the same squad for the last 10 or 12 years so there will be a little bedding in period. We had a good win against the barbarians but 6 nations rugby is a bit different to that. It will be exciting because it’s new. There is a new coach and new players in and around the squad, it’s just going to be, watch this space, really. It might take a bit of time or be a learning curve but we’ll have to just wait and see and have a bit of patience as well i think.
What are your thoughts on youngsters like Louis Rees Zammit, would you put them straight in there or do you think they need a bit of time first?
If he is ready to go straight in there, and they will know that on how he’s training and how he’s reacting, then yes i would put him in. What you don’t want to do is take the confidence away from these young lads. The game can be quite cruel if you look at what has happened in the past to people like Alex Cuthbertt for example the fans really got on his back and Rees Zamitt clearly has a very bright future from what we can see. He’s doing some amazing things at Gloucester so you have to make sure that his confidence is nurtured and he’s developed properly, if he’s ready now then yes I would put him in there but they will know exactly where he is at and when to expose him to international rugby. It might be on a tour or it might be now but he’s been exposed to International rugby now and it’s just a case of how he finds that environment and hope he flourishes as to whether they select him.
Just how big a boost is it for Wales to have players like Faletau and Webb back in the Welsh squad?
It’s lovely to see Taulupe back i think it’s been a year or so since they have both featured and it’s great to have them back. They have a host of experience but I think they start from scratch again really as the players who have come in have played in their position and taken their spots well at times. They are by no means a given to be in the squad. They have been out of the loop, they have chosen to play their rugby out of Wales, in the English and the French league, so they have to earn their selection. They are quality players, we know they are quality players but form is a month to month thing so they are there to prove it to a new coach as much as when they first came through really.
If you had to pick one Welsh player that will light up the 6 nations who do you think it will be?
There is a whole host of them really, Josh Adams springs to mind, who are they going to go for at ten is a big thing Gareth Davies always light’s things up,as well, so well just have to wait and see.
Who’s your prediction to Win the 6 nations?
I always say Wales, so I am going to say Wales again!
