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'Sometimes we look outstanding, other times not so much' - Gatland
By Ben Spratt
Warren Gatland was delighted with Wales' 38-14 win over Italy after he made 10 changes to the side that lost to Ireland last time out.
Gatland's decision to hand minutes to fringe men against the Six Nations' bottom side was seen as controversial by some, but the hosts cruised to victory at the Principality Stadium with George North scoring a brace.
And the Wales coach considered Sunday's game to be a big success as the much-changed team took five points and climbed into second place ahead of next weekend's final-round clash with France.
"It's job done," Gatland said. "It's what we wanted.
"To make that many changes and win comfortably was pleasing. Some elements were frustrating and we'll work on that. But we achieved what we wanted to do and we have our destiny in our own hands next week.
"[Playing after so many changes] is always tough. That cohesion takes time. It always looks easier in training. Sometimes we look outstanding, other times not so much. That's to be expected."
Gatland was particularly pleased with the performance of Hadleigh Parkes, who scored one try and was denied a second.
"[Parkes] doesn't make any mistakes," he said. "That's the difference between quality players. They can go through games and not make mistakes.
"That's his second man of the match. He's so accurate. He has a boot, a good pass. He's got an all-round game.
"He's a bit of glue for us at the minute. We have good players but they sometimes need a cool head around them to keep them calm at times."
Parkes starred as one of the five players to keep their place, later agreeing with his coach's assessment that winning with a supposedly weakened team is a big positive for Wales.
"It's a huge opportunity for a lot of the boys," Parkes told BBC Sport. "It's about building depth going forward. It's quite exciting really."
On the battle for second place, he added: "It's very exciting and makes next weekend very exciting. It's going to be another big game. Hopefully we can put in another performance."
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Latest Comments
Not so many when you compare it to the squad of 50 plus players used by SA. Four main problems with the team and Schmidt shows he is a good technician but poor international coach by not selecting the best players and rotating and developing key positions.
First, the scrum is woeful if Bell and Thor don’t play. AAA and Nongoor in particular are poor. Talea may be good but is not good enough. Schmidt should select Sio, Ainsley and Latu as the bench front row. All playing well in Europe. He should also be doing better with Pone and perhaps getting him over to France to work on his scrummaging. Pone is our best running prop but poor coaching has killed him. Needs better coaching OS provided eg Skelton and Meafou. Secondly, 9 and 10 combo. McDermott is a confidence player and is terrible on a bad day. He takes several steps before passing which kills the speed of ball and results in turnovers. Better off with Kerr Barlow who is playing well with La Rochelle and making McDermott work on his skills. Edmed probably does need a run too. Thirdly, centre and fullback. Perese is our best defender at centre and should be in the squad. The outside back defence is poor without Joe and needs to be shored up. Wright is also a confidence player and has poor defence. When he is off like he was last week better to replace him with someone like Reece Hodge who has a great boot and good D. Fourthly, lack of ball runners who break tackles outside of Bobby V and Skelton. Wilson is not up to international standard and dosent break tackles nor does McReight. Replace him with Gleeson and Leota on the bench if fit. Would also be better playing Pone than Nongoor as Pone at least has a good running game. Latu also makes ground. Amatesero is also a better player than Williams. Frost has been the standout fine. Finally, player rotation. Schmidt is grinding key players like Bell and Bobby V into dust. He needs to give them breaks by utilising OS players more and developing youngsters. The loss of Meafou to France and the guy who captained Scotland exemplifies the poor coaching and development in Aus.
Go to commentsIt doesn't baffle me. We have seen this before from kiwi coaches in Australia. Exactly as I predicted Schmidt is chopping and changing the team every week and playing players out of position and there doesn't appear to be any discernable game plan
It appears the Wallaby players have lost faith in Schmidt already. Again, exactly as I predicted.
Once Aussies can see a kiwi is a fraud, all faith just goes out the door. It happened with Deans, it happened with Rennie and it's now happened with Schmidt. Players don't like being screwed around and they know when the selections and tactics suck.
We are going to get done like a dinner during the Lions tour, just like it was when Deans was coach and Schmidt will get sacked with his forty pieces of silver. He's a mercenary.
And congratulations on an honest assessment. Some in the Australian media have become sickeningly obsequious.
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