Wales rugby coach salutes O’Driscoll landmark – Six Nations Rugby

Wales coach Warren Gatland knows better than most the qualities that will have taken Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll to a century of caps for his country when the two sides meet in the Six Nations rugby at Croke Park on Saturday.
"I gave him his first cap, and it was an honour for me to be involved with him with the Lions last year to see how he has developed," Gatland said on Wednesday. "I was incredibly impressed with his leadership and his understanding of the game.
"He was one of the main reasons Jamie Roberts ended up having such a good tour.
"He deserves all the accolades, and I will be one of the first to stand up in the coaching box on Saturday and clap him," Gatland, whose time in charge of the two Celtic nations was separated by a successful spell as coach of English giants Wasps.
"I am absolutely delighted for him and proud I have had an association with him," Gatland added.
O’Driscoll, who a match after prop John Hayes became the first player to win 100 Ireland caps, becomes only the 13th player in rugby union history to notch up a hundred Tests’ worth of national service, has enjoyed a glittering career.
The Leinster legend has captained Ireland on 63 occasions and last year led his country to their first Grand Slam since 1948 while winning the European Cup with his provincial side.
But the match that made world rugby sit-up and take notice of his singular talent was in 2000 when O’Driscoll, just two months after his 21st birthday, scored a hat-trick of tries against a France side featuring Emile Ntamack and Abdel Benazzi as Ireland enjoyed a rare victory in Paris.
"That is my greatest memory of Brian – the hat-trick of tries he scored when Ireland beat France in Paris for the first time in 27 years," said Gatland, whose opinion was soon endorsed by one of rugby union’s most gifted centres.
"I remember the French great Philippe Sella coming into the changing room to congratulate him afterwards and saying it was one of the most impressive centre performances he had ever seen."
And Wales flanker Martyn Williams, the visiting captain this weekend in place of the injured Ryan Jones, said the passing of the years had done little to dim fellow Lion O’Driscoll’s ability.
"Brian is without doubt the best player in the northern hemisphere over the last decade, and probably one of the greatest ever," said Williams. "For me, there is nothing he can’t do.
"A lot of players maybe are really good defenders and have great passing skills, but he’s got the complete package.
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Wales coach Warren Gatland breaks cover over warthog jibe in Ireland

Warren Gatland will tomorrow depart from routine and host Wales’s final media conference before Saturday’s Six Nations match against Ireland at Croke Park, after finding himself the subject of personal attacks in Irish newspapers.
Gatland, who was sacked by Ireland in 2001 after three years in charge, was described by Vincent Hogan of the Irish Independent as being "as rational as a menopausal warthog" and accused of harbouring a "toxic personal agenda" against Irish rugby. The former Ireland second-row Neil Francis called him "puerile" and said the New Zealander could be out of a job in the summer.
This is the third time Gatland has prepared Wales to face Ireland. The only other time he has presented a media conference the day before a game, a task he usually leaves to his assistants, was before the fixture in Cardiff last year when he had caused a furore by suggesting his players disliked the Irish more than any other side in the Six Nations.
"I, like the rest of the Wales coaching staff and players, have broad shoulders and we are more than capable of rising above this kind of self-perpetuating attempt at controversy," said Gatland. "We should treat this with the disdain in which it is offered and I urge true Welsh and Irish rugby fans not to let anything that has been written affect the respect and friendship they share for each other. It does not deserve to impact on what will be a great weekend."
Gatland has been complimentary to Ireland this week – in the last two years he has not been afraid to provoke a response. Wales were chasing the title then but two defeats in three matches this year have left them needing a win to avoid going into the last weekend as candidates for the wooden spoon.
"We know it is going to be tough against Ireland," said Gatland. "We need to be more clinical. There will be a lot of emotion about, with Brian O’Driscoll winning his 100th cap, but it is exciting and I am looking forward to it. We need to improve our decision-making, not putting ourselves under pressure by playing too much rugby from the start. We should not be afraid to go into half-time at 3-3 or 6-6 because, as the game breaks up in the second half, we will create chances. We are in great shape physically and we are strong at the end of games. We must just stop giving away soft points.
"We do not want to be conservative. We want to play expansive rugby but we just have to be a bit smarter. It would be easy to revert to a tighter game plan but it is harder to go the other way and suddenly become expansive, as England have found. They have been unsuccessful when playing a wider game because they have no experience of it. Attack is costing us at the moment but it will come."
The Gloucester chairman, Tom Walkinshaw, and his fellow shareholder Martin St Quinton have pumped more than £2.5m into the club after it posted a loss of nearly £670,000 in the last financial year, compared with a £209,000 profit a year before.
"Trading has been poor and we needed to do something about it," said Walkinshaw. "We have no idea how the economy will perform in the next year and we now have some clear headroom."
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Six Nations 2010: Geordan Murphy in line for Ireland start against Wales

Geordan Murphy, the Leicester Tigers full-back, could be in line for a sensational return to the Ireland side for their Six Nations match against Wales at Croke Park on Saturday.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney will name his match day 22-man squad on Tuesday, but with Lions full-back Rob Kearney currently sidelined for up to five weeks with a knee injury, Murphy is back into contention for his first international action since appearing as a substitute as Ireland completed their Grand Slam triumph against Wales last March.
Murphy’s timely return, however, has been tempered by two more injuries within the Ireland camp, with Seán O’Brien and Donnacha Ryan the latest casualties.
O’Brien fractured his lower leg in the opening stages of Leinster’s 27-14 defeat of the Scarlets at the RDS on Saturday, and will be out for 10 weeks, while it was confirmed that Ryan dislocated his shoulder in Munster’s defeat of Edinburgh last Friday. Both were on the bench in Paris and against Italy.
Either Shane Jennings or Kevin McLaughlin, who started against Italy in the absence of Stephen Ferris, are in line for promotion to the Ireland bench. If Donncha O’Callaghan gets the all clear from a knee injury he would also probably make the replacements.
Ulster captain Rory Best, who has made a remarkable recovery from a neck injury sustained last summer that was originally thought to have ruled him out of this season, is set to replace the suspended Jerry Flannery at hooker, with Connacht’s Seán Cronin likely to be named on the bench.
Meanwhile, Wales head coach Warren Gatland looks set to name Sale scrum-half Dwayne Peel in his match day squad for the visit of France to the Millennium Stadium on Friday.
The Sale scrum-half, who has recovered from the groin injury that saw him miss Wales’ matches against England and Scotland, was called into Gatland’s 34-man squad having proved his fitness by playing 80 minutes of the Sharks 19-10 Guinness Premiership defeat by Leeds over the weekend.
Peel’s availability will come as a relief as Gareth Cooper has struggled in the starting role thus far in the championship and Gatland is glad to have 72-times capped Peel available for selection.
“It was important for us to see Dwayne come through 80 minutes of rugby,” Gatland said.
“But, once he proved his fitness, it’s obvious that a player of his experience and talents would provide a welcome boost to any squad.”
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Six Nations 2010: Andy Powell determined to win back place in Wales squad

The 28-year-old Cardiff Blues back-row forward lost his Wales place after he was charged with driving a golf buggy "whilst unfit through drink" following Saturday’s victory over Scotland.
Powell will appear at Cardiff Magistrates Court on March 2, four days after Wales take on France in the Championship.
However, despite being ruled out of that game and almost certainly Wales’ other championship matches against Ireland and Italy, a statement released by Powell’s agent, Mike Burton, highlighted the player’s desire to regain his position.
"Andy will now work towards re-establishing himself in the Welsh squad at a time when the WRU team management think fit," he said.
Scotland threequarter Thom Evans is to undergo a second operation on his neck. The Glasgow wing, 24, suffered a serious injury after colliding with Wales full-back Lee Byrne at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
He had an operation that evening but surgeons have decided a second procedure will be required later this week before he is released from University Hospital, Cardiff.
An independent committee will convene in London on March 2 to hear the appeal lodged by Stade Français prop David Attoub against both the finding of foul play and the 70-week ban he received for eye gouging in the Heineken Cup game against Ulster in December.
Jerry Flannery will go before a disciplinary hearing in Dublin this morning to discover whether he will be able to play in all of Ireland’s remaining Six Nations games.
The Ireland hooker has been charged with kicking France wing Alexis Palisson in Saturday’s 33-10 defeat in Paris. If the citing is upheld, Flannery faces at least a four-week suspension, which would rule him out of Ireland’s games against England and Wales. Ireland close their campaign against Scotland on March 20.
Springbok centre Jean de Villiers will leave Munster at the end of the season and return to South Africa to improve his chances of playing in next year’s World Cup.
"This is perhaps my last opportunity to represent my country at the Rugby World Cup and after consultation with SARU it has become clear that to qualify for selection players must be playing their rugby in South Africa in the season leading up to the competition," he said.
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Stuart Barnes’s Big Game: Wales v Scotland

Wales’s slide from the top tier of international teams gathered momentum with a lacklustre performance at Twickenham. England were not that good but for all bar 20 minutes. Wales were that bad. Muscle and mean defensive mentality has become the leading edge of their game but Wales’s players remain at their best playing attacking rugby.
Martyn Williams is a glorious link and Jamie Roberts and James Hook are capable of causing endless problems to the best teams while Stephen Jones is never afraid to stand flat and in the firing line. The scrum is good and should be much better still this weekend. They are overwhelming favourites to beat Scotland this weekend but the Welsh players will need to cut out the stupid mistakes that undermined them in London. In the 10 minutes Alun Wyn Jones was sitting out his sin-bin sentence, Wales leaked 17 unanswered points. The Welsh management didn’t hold back in their criticism but teams frequently play with one man down and rarely concede so much. Shouldn’t the defensive system of Shaun Edwards be subjected to more scrutiny than it has so far?
Scotland are not the ideal test of Edwards’ defence. Phil Godman has been dropped and Dan Parks recalled in the merry-go-round of two substitute internationals taking their turn to play and be dropped. Chris Paterson is not the ideal answer but Scotland have a few decent full back options and he kicks goals, while bringing experience in the position.
They have a superior balance to their attack with Rory Lamont adding more bite alongside his brother Sean, who caused genuine problems for France from the wing. Andy Robinson has moved him into the centre to get him more involved. It’s logical but it doesn’t always work.
What must work if Scotland are to win is their back row for whom Johnnie Beattie was excellent in Edinburgh. With Robinson running the side this comes as no great shock. The man knows his back row. Robinson will be delighted to have Euan Murray back from his self-imposed Sunday exile. Scotland would like nothing more than Murray’s inspiration as a changing-room presence, but in the likely absence of divinity, they will have to make do with…
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Six Nations: Wales hit the roof as Scotland want Millennium Stadium uncovered for showdown

SCOTLAND have been accused of running scared as their Six Nations plans were dealt a severe injury blow.
Wales coach Warren Gatland hit the roof after Andy Robinson demanded the dome remain open at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Gatland claims Scotland plan to take advantage of predicted rain and snow to turn the game into a slugfest he fears is contrary to the spirit of entertainment.
But Robinson dismissed his claims amid more pressing concerns over injured second row Nathan Hines who has been ruled out of the Cardiff trip.
The Australian-born lock will be replaced by Edinburgh star Jim Hamilton who swaps an afternoon walking his dog for the chance to bare his teeth against the Welsh scrum.
Robinson told Welsh rugby chiefs he wanted the roof kept open as it’s only ever closed when agreement is reached between both teams.
Gatland said: "The weather we’re expecting for this weekend is not great and it is supposed to be cold with possible snow.
"But Scotland asked on Tuesday for the roof to be open and it’s disappointing.
"I understand we want to play the game under natural conditions and i fit’s sunny at this time of year then great.
"But if it is raining I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to make use of the roof.
"We all have a responsibility to the game, to the media, to the public and the sponsors. So if we have roof let’s close it, have some sanity and see some positive rugby.
"Why play in the rain and bad weather if you don’t have to? "Euan Murray is back to make their scrum stronger and I’m sure Scotland will hope it’s a day in Cardiff which is p****ng down with rain."
But Robinson claims he would have handed the Welsh a pre-match boost if he had agreed to play with the elements held in check.
He said: "Six Nations rules state that if we want the roof open, it’s opened. It’s an advantage to Wales to play with the roof closed.
"He says what he needs to say but every other game in the championship is played without a roof.
"Let’s get on with it." Scotland jet out to Cardiff today as they seek only their second win on the road in eight years.
They last won on their travels in Italy in 2006 and before then it was against the Welsh in 2002.
The loss of Hines is a blow. He suffered a calf strain and aggravated a previous ankle injury during the 18-9 defeat to France at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Hamilton has just returned to action after a knee injury ruled him out of the first half of the season.
He said: "I was all set to walk my boxer dog Bruce on Saturday as I didn’t expect to be part of the group."
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English WAGs helped inspire Scotland to 1990 Grand Slam victory over England

I am sure my fellow resident on these pages, Brian Moore – with whom I have more than once enjoyed banter on the airwaves – will welcome a calibrated alternative view of the events of March 17, 1990, when Scotland beat England to win the Grand Slam at Murrayfield.

Glory day: Chris Gray, David Sole and Finlay Calder celebrate during the 13-7 Grand Slam victory over England at Murrayfield Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Brian believes – understandably given the way the sky fell on England that afternoon – that almost supernatural forces propelled Tony Stanger across the line for the Scots’ winning try.
In his book, Beware of the Dog, which has rattled a few cages north of the border, Brian states that antipathy towards Margaret Thatcher, loathing of the poll tax and downright xenophobic anti-Englishness were behind Scotland’s greatest ever victory on the rugby field.
Well, it is certainly true that the Iron Lady was not held in the highest regard in Scotland but the day she was demonised at a sporting event was when she turned up at Hampden Park for the Celtic v Dundee United Scottish Cup final in 1985.
She was greeted with a mass display of red cards in protest against health service cuts and then had to sit through a barrage of songs and chants of such profanity – including one about her husband, Denis – that they cannot be hinted at here.
By contrast, Murrayfield, with its large numbers of supporters drawn from the Scottish public and private school system, was much more like Thatcher’s natural constituency.
As for the poll tax, while substantial numbers protested by refusing to pay in Scotland, there was no civil disorder.
In fact, the worst violence, which left5,000 injured and led to 339 arrests – happened in Trafalgar Square exactly two weeks after David Sole’s side won the Grand Slam.
On the other hand, a certain frisson may have been created by the evident assumption on the part of several English players that they had only to turn up to collect the prize – hence their insistence on being photographed underneath the posts with the rugby WAGs an hour before kick-off, an event noted by the home support and players.
And, as my wife and I left Murrayfield that day, we came across a white woollen sweater trampled into the mud.
It bore the red rose crest, around which were the words "England 1990 Grand Slam Winners".
I have always regretted that we didn’t take it home and stick it in the wash.
Still – and my dear friend Brian will be the first to say as much – it is never too late to cleanse the doors of perception.
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Six Nations 2010: France’s Mathieu Bastareaud goes up against Brian O’Driscoll

At Murrayfield he confronted his demons and scored two tries, and now in Paris Mathieu Bastareaud will face the world’s best centre – Brian O’Driscoll.

It will be a pivotal clash in probably the key game of the 2010 Six Nations. Bastareaud is beginning to make the headlines for the right reasons again, for which he and France are grateful.
That brace of tries against Scotland has got the French rugby public back onside – there were many who felt his recall was premature after the disgrace he brought on Les Bleus by his false accusations of an assault by a street gang in New Zealand. A command performance against the Irish would surely see all sins forgiven.
It should be a personal clash to savour at the Stade de France, the ground where 10 years ago a young O’Driscoll – 21, as Bastareaud is now – announced himself to the rugby world at large with a match-winning hat-trick of tries against for Ireland against the French.
O’Driscoll has reigned supreme for a decade since then, but you fancy Bastareaud is a worthy opponent and an individual capable of being the benchmark midfield player in the Six Nations well into this next decade. A changing of the guard possibly? O’Driscoll will resist, like all great
"Mark is a very young man and his actions in New Zealand were those of an immature young man not used to the responsibilities of representing his country abroad," France coach Marc Lièvremont said. "It was a difficult personal time for him and he paid a high price but now he has been reintegrated into the squad. He has been rehabilitated and we start again.
"Mathieu is a wiser man. He has apologised to everybody who needed apologising to many times over. He cannot apologise any more, the incident is over. He can only play good rugby and conduct himself in the appropriate fashion. His abilities have always been evident and now he is a hungry man with points to prove, which is always good in a player."
A cousin of the France and Arsenal centre-back, William Gallas, Bastareaud burst on to the scene at the 2007 Under-19 World Cup in Belfast and was always going to be fast-tracked into the senior team. A product of Créteil rugby club and humble SU Massy of the French third division, Bastareaud was eventually signed by Stade Français.
Built like a dump truck and weighing 17st 7lb with power to add, Bastareaud can claim to be the heaviest centre playing Test rugby. He has, however, surprising pace, which sometimes catches out opponents steeling themselves to tackle a straightforward battering ram, and he also possesses a better than average pair of hands, which gives him other options.
"We are going to polish up our report to Paddy O’Brien [head of the International Rugby Board's referee commission]. Refereeing is a factor of the game we can’t control but we’ll still try to solve the problem."
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Six Nations 2010: Ireland recall victory over Scotland that set the ball rolling

Heaven knows what the so-called Celtic Tiger era was all about, but nothing seemed to epitomise those frantic, party-hearty, naughty, boom years more than Ireland’s amazing 27-25 win at the Stade de France 10 years ago.
On a bright Sunday afternoon in March Ireland, without a victory in Paris in 28 years, conjured rugby from the gods. Brian O’Driscoll scored three tries in 80 minutes, which equalled Ireland’s total in Paris for the previous 20 years, and David Humphreys, who had missed a kick to win the corresponding game at Lansdowne Road the previous year, nervelessly smacked over the winning penalty three minutes from time.
For Ireland – the sporting nation and the country itself – it was a high point after years in the doldrums and as the new millennium dawned, all dreams now seemed permissible. Much of that has dissolved before our eyes and the economy is in tatters again, but for Irish rugby it really was the beginning of something good, one of the few enduring legacies of the Celtic Tiger.
Admittedly it has not always been the smoothest of paths. Rather typically, at the time, Ireland slipped to a disappointing home defeat against Wales just two weeks after that glorious day in Paris, showing an inconsistency they have had to battle against, and further down the line the 2007 World Cup debacle remains as inexplicable as ever. But that win in Paris undoubtedly provided the emotional juice and inspiration for just about everything good that followed.
"I was just a young kid that day wearing a jersey about four sizes too big for me. I looked faintly ridiculous," recalls O’Driscoll. "I was pretty naive in many ways but that was a really good thing because I had no preset idea as to how big the occasion would be and how big the win was. That came home when you saw all the emotion on the faces of our older players.
"It was another important rugby match at a big venue but there was no baggage or fear as far as I was concerned. It changed my life though. The day we got back I went to a schools cup final in Dublin and got absolutely mobbed for an hour or so by kids wanting autographs, which was entirely new to me. Something very big had clearly happened. It was a huge boost for Irish rugby."
O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara and John Hayes remain in the Ireland team from that day, 90+ cap veterans who have fulfilled most of their rugby dreams, although they have yet to win in Paris again, something which is high on their personal agendas on Saturday.
Others, such as Peter Clohessy and Mick Galwey, were experiencing something very special after long years at the coalface while Keith Wood, who had just started his second term as Ireland captain that season, was inspired enough to defy serious groin and shoulder injuries for another three years until the 2003 World Cup.
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RBS Six Nations Rugby Hospitality

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