Wales coach Warren Gatland believes the standard of the English Premiership is the weakest he’s ever known.
Only one member of Gatland’s squad for next months’s four Tests here at the Millennium Stadium — scrum-half Dwayne Peel — plays his club rugby in England.
And Gatland, who coached Wasps to the Premiership title, made it clear he was decidedly unimpressed by the standard of this season’s tournament after several low-grade encounters in the opening six rounds.
”I think the Premiership, having watched the games, is the weakest Premiership I’ve seen since I have been up here [in the United Kingdom],” the New Zealander said.
”It is the weakest in terms of the quality of the teams involved.
”Look at Gloucester. When I was at Wasps you would go down there and know you were going to have a really tough, physical match up front.
”I couldn’t believe they just weren’t competitive against Wasps on Saturday [Gloucester lost 35-6 at home].
”When the Premiership is strong, it’s a good gauge of how players are likely to perform at international level.”
Although Peel is in Wales’s squad, he remains unavailable for their opening match next month against New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium on November 7.
The fixture falls outside the International Rugby Board’s ‘window’ for Test fixtures and that means Peel’s club, Sale, are under no obligation to release him for the clash with the All Blacks.
Peel’s absence will be all the more keenly felt by Wales as Mike Phillips, their British and Irish Lions scrum-half, is out for some 12 weeks with an ankle injury.
”At this stage Dwayne is not available for the All Blacks game,” former Ireland coach Gatland said. ”I spoke to him and he is desperately keen to be involved against New Zealand. He is pretty frustrated by the situation.
”If Sale decide to release him, or Premier Rugby, then there is a possibility he might be part of the 22 for the All Blacks game.
”The sad thing about it is it’s the player who is really being affected. I would go out of my way to make sure a player was released.
”Playing international rugby is the pinnacle of any player’s career,” added Gatland, whose Wales side also face, Samoa, Argentina and Australia next month at the Millennium Stadium.
Wales have not beaten New Zealand since 1953, but last season they led the All Blacks at half-time in Cardiff before being overpowered.
”For us it’s trying to really build on the confidence gained from the first 40-50 minutes against them last year,” Gatland said. ”We could quite easily have gone 16-3 up at half-time in that game.
”It provides belief and confidence that when we do perform at our optimum, we are capable of pushing them and putting them under pressure.
”They are always difficult to play against but you have got to go in there believing that if we do perform, we’ve got a chance of winning.” — AFP
