Thursday, November 29

Wales players need no extra motivation against South Africa – Gatland

Wales are closing in on best set of autumn results as they chase a fourth win in succession.

Warren Gatland says his Wales players are "very well aware" of their potential to make history on Saturday.

Victory over South Africa at the Principality Stadium would give Wales a first four-from-four autumn Tests clean sweep.

They won three out of four in 2002 and 2016, but have never previously ended their November schedule with a 100 per cent record.

But after beating Scotland, Australia and Tonga, Wales can sweep the board by beating South Africa for a fifth time in the countries' last six meetings.

"They are pretty aware of it," Wales head coach Gatland said.

"It's like a finals situation. It makes the coaches' job easy. They know they can do something special.

"It is like when you play the last game of a Six Nations for a Grand Slam. There is no lack of motivation for that.

"It hasn't been done before, and a clean sweep in the autumn would be pretty special. They are very well aware of what that means, and the consequences for us as a team going forwards."

Wales have only lost twice this year – to England and Ireland – while a win against the Springboks would make it nine successive victories for the first time since 1999.

And a sense of achievement is not lost on centre Jonathan Davies, the 2017 British and Irish Lions player of the series against New Zealand, who will be key to Welsh hopes this weekend.

"This is an opportunity to do something we have never done before, and it's a big game," he said.

"We are playing one of the top teams in the world, we want to get the victory, and there is a good buzz to us in training. There is expectancy on us to go out there and get a result.

"Potentially, we are going under the radar, but we are concentrating on what we need to execute on the weekend.

"We work as a collective group to get those victories. If no-one talks about us, it doesn't really affect us. I don't think boys are crying out for attention – it doesn't bother us."

Wales have won nine of their 11 Tests this year and currently sit third in Test rugby's official world rankings.

And Gatland is also continuing to build notable squad strength in depth, highlighted by a number of players taking their opportunities this autumn and throughout summer appointments with South Africa and Argentina.

And Davies added: "The strength in depth is great at the moment.

"There is a lot of competition in training, there is no complacency. The squad is great to be a part of, and that is why we are having a fair bit of success at the moment.

"There is a lot expected of the squad these days, but we don't feel the pressure."

amp_article_342304 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-11-24 12:12:00:
html db last update - 2018-11-29 13:06:47 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Loading ...

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City1311204053535
2Liverpool1310302652133
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs13100323111230
4Chelsea1384128111728
5Arsenal1383228161227
6Everton136432015522
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd136342021-121
8Bournemouth136252218420
9Watford136251717020
10Leicester CityLeicester135351817118
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves134451215-316
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton134361419-515
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle133371116-512
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham133371422-812
15Huddersfield TownHuddersfield13247822-1410
16Crystal Palace13238817-99
17Burnley132381327-149
18Southampton131571024-148
19Cardiff CityCardiff132291126-158
20Fulham132291433-198
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
League Two Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1MK Dons20117230131740
2Lincoln City19115334171738
3Colchester UnitedColchester20105533191435
4Newport CountyNewport2010553132-135
5Bury2096538211733
6Mansfield TownMansfield19711127141332
7Exeter CityExeter208752921831
8Tranmere RoversTranmere208753025531
9Stevenage209472625131
10Forest Green RoversForest Green207942820830
11Carlisle UnitedCarlisle208392525027
12Swindon TownSwindon207672328-527
13Oldham AthleticOldham206862621526
14Crawley TownCrawley198292730-326
15Crewe AlexandraCrewe207492124-325
16Port Vale207492023-325
17Northampton TownNorthampton205872528-323
18Grimsby Town2064101927-822
19Yeovil TownYeovil185672322121
20Morecambe2063111932-1321
21Cambridge UnitedCambridge2054111934-1519
22Cheltenham TownCheltenham1945101830-1217
23Notts County2037102241-1916
24Macclesfield TownMacclesfield2034131637-2113
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.