Six Nations: Warren Gatland insists Wales are getting better despite wooden spoon test looming

Warren Gatland says Wales are desperate to avoid the Six Nations wooden spoon against an Italy team coached by fellow former All Black Kieran Crowley.

Gatland is yet to oversee a win since returning for a second stint as Wales coach, although the former Chiefs mentor claimed his side are improving.

Wales lost 20-10 against England in Cardiff on Saturday (Sunday NZT) after earlier defeats to series leaders Ireland and Scotland.

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That means the Welsh – who won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams under Gatland between 2008 and 2019 – must pick up a win over Italy in a fortnight or France in the final gameweek to avoid finishing last for the first time since 2003 when Steve Hansen was in charge.

Gatland was asked at a post-match press conference after the England defeat whether the Italy test was more important than ever.

He conceded it was.

“Last thing you want to do is get the wooden spoon. That’s got to be our focus from that.”

But “part of this Six Nations is about us thinking about the next six or seven months”, he added.

“We’ve got older players still holding their hands up and some younger players who need some time. We’ve not got that group in the middle who have 30 or so caps. We’ve got to marry the two together and start thinking about that going forward.

“Some of those youngsters need to be given more time together. You can’t coach experience.”

Before the England test, Gatland suggested that former Wales coach Wayne Pivac should have moved out some older players and brought in younger talent sooner and that it was almost too late to get the new recruits enough experience before the Rugby World Cup.

But, Pivac – sacked after underwhelming results in last November’s test series – scoffed at his Kiwi compatriot’s suggestion while serving as part of the BBC commentary team for the England test.

“Yeah, I sort of didn’t think much of it really when you look at Scott Baldwin being brought in [by Gatland] at 36 and Rhys Webb at 33,” Pivac said on television. (Baldwin is actually 34).

The Cardiff test came after a fortnight of fraught relations between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Players Association, who at one point threatened to strike unless key demands were met.

The game went ahead after some concessions by the union, including reducing the threshold for players available to be selected from overseas from 60 caps to 25.

Gatland said on the eve of the test that that standoff had affected him and his players, but post-match he insisted the issues were no excuse for Wales’ defeat.

“We weren’t making any excuses for what happened in the week. Getting up for an England v Wales game is not difficult. The week was challenging, we realise and understand that, but we were not making any excuses.”

Gatland felt there were “a number of improvements’’ in Wales’ performance against England, but there was still a lot of work to.

“We can be critical of ourselves in terms of us creating a lot of problems for ourselves in not being accurate in key critical moments. That’s what test match rugby is about, staying in that arm wrestle and to stay in that fight is about being accurate.”

He said he had already spoken to his players about the need to try to “control the thing we have been able to do in critical moments, whether it be nailing a lineout or a ball going to ground from a pass’’

“We have a little bit of contact stuff we can tidy up in the 22 and just creating a bit more on attack.”

Italy are also still winless after the first three rounds, but pushed France hard in the season opener and only trailed Ireland by four points during the second half on Saturday (Sunday NZT) before losing 34-20 in Rome.