Wales boss Warren Gatland has ignited the anticipation for Wales’ upcoming Six Nations showdown against England by dismissing any sense of intimidation at Twickenham.
George North returns to the Wales starting XV in what will be his 50th Six Nations appearance. He partners Nick Tompkins in the midfield.
In contrast to England captain Jamie George’s recent assertion that they aim to make Twickenham a daunting fortress, Gatland confidently stated that there is no fear within the Wales camp about facing England on Saturday.
“No, because the first four times I went there we won; three Premiership finals and a Heineken Cup final [with Wasps],” joked the Wales head coach.
“I don’t find it intimidating at all! It’s great when you come in the gates and everyone is outside and you’ve got the fans there, it’s a great stadium to enter. I love the atmosphere and it’s even more special if you can walk away with a win. And that’s not easy to do.
“For me, it doesn’t hold any trepidation. It’s about starting well and stopping the crowd singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot too early. Silence them a bit – that becomes an important factor. We need to start a lot better than last week. We need to reduce the amount of turnovers.
“The second-half was reflective of how we played against Australia in the World Cup. A number of those things were in our own control, with penalties or lineouts that we weren’t accurate enough. We worked hard this week in trying to rectify these things.
“But we’re not afraid to go to Twickenham, I can promise you. Looking at them from last week, they’ll be better and hopefully we are as well.”
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