Gatland, who is in his second stint as Wales's head coach after 12 successful years up to the end of the 2019 World Cup, has more reasons than usual to feel jangly. Tonight's opponents, Fiji, are coming off the back of a victory over England at Twickenham while Wales have only we on two matches all year.
"I always get nervous and I would be worried if I wasn't," said Gatland, who steered Wales to the semi-finals in 2011 and 2019. "When you are a player you can influence a game, but you are helpless as a coach and that is the hardest thing.
"We were 10-0 down against Fiji in the last World Cup but we stuck to our processes and got back into it. We have to make sure that we are clear about what we want to achieve and we need to start well." Wales had considerable experience in 2015 and 2019, but in Gatland's first World Cup in 2011, he jettisoned a number of senior figures in the runup to the tournament and they came within a kick of reaching the final.
This story is from the September 10, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the September 10, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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