Warren Gatland committed his future to Wales after their World Cup exit and then insisted he believes Steve Borthwick’s England can shock South Africa in the semi-finals in France.
Gatland saw his team beaten in the last-eight stage by Argentina last weekend. When he returned for a second stint as Wales head coach last December, Gatland signed a contract until 2027.
But the deal had a break clause in it for after this year’s global showpiece. Gatland on Wednesday insisted he was excited about what Wales can achieve in the next four-year cycle.
‘Absolutely,’ he said, when questioned if he was continuing as Wales boss.
‘I’m excited about what we can start doing as a group. We’ve got an opportunity to bring some youngsters in and build to 2027 with players having 50, 60, 70 caps behind them.
Warren Gatland (above) has committed his future to Wales after their World Cup exit
The Kiwi admitted he is excited about what Wales can build to in the next four-year cycle
‘We have shown we can improve and we have got an opportunity to play at a higher level.
‘When you look at the potential we’ve got, we can be really excited about what we can achieve over the next three or four years.’
Gatland’s first campaign back in charge earlier this year saw him take charge of a horror Six Nations but Wales looked much more like their old selves at the World Cup.
Gatland said he was still incredibly disappointed by Saturday’s Argentina defeat. He also admitted a quarter-final exit was reflective of where Wales are right now.
England are the only northern hemisphere side left in the World Cup and face defending champions South Africa on Saturday. New Zealand against Argentina is the other semi-final.
‘For me the team that’s probably slipped under the radar a bit has been England,’ said Gatland.
‘They haven’t played as well as they would have liked but when you look at their age profile and experience, they can be dangerous when it comes to big matches.
‘They’ve got that experience of the past. Often teams who are a little bit older can pull a big one out of the bag. They’ll be a tough proposition to knock over this weekend.’
The Wales boss saw his team beaten in the last-eight stage by Argentina last weekend
Gatland also revealed that had Wales beaten Argentina, he would have been forced to field a makeshift back-line against New Zealand as Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar and Gareth Davies would all have been unavailable due to injury.
Gatland will name his Wales squad to face the Barbarians on November 4 on Thursday, but will be unable to call on his England and France-based players for the game.
The Barbarians match – which is uncapped – is a farewell for former Wales great and rugby’s most capped player Alun Wyn Jones before he retires.
Australia’s much-maligned head coach Eddie Jones will take charge of the Barbarians alongside soon-to-be New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson.
