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Warren Gatland: Wales have 'forgotten how to lose'
By Online Editors
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has proudly claimed that his team have 'forgotten how to lose' after their stunning 24-19 comeback win against France in Paris.
The Welsh trailed 16-0 at half-time after a poor first half showing, with Louis Picamoles and Yoann Huget dotting down to complement a penalty and drop goal from Camille Lopez.
However, the visitors responded outstandingly to run in three second half tries, including an opportunistic brace for wing George North, to come away from the French capital with four competition points.
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"France were very good in the first half," he said to Sky Sports.
"We made too many errors and tried to play too much rugby. We were much better in the second half and created some chances.
"For me, the big difference between the two teams is that we've become a side that has probably forgotten how to lose and can dig deep like that.
"On the other hand, they are probably a team searching for some confidence, having not had a great run in the last seven or eight matches."
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"We know that we get better the more time we have together," he said.
"To win this tournament, you need a bit of luck. We look back on our victories and know that sometimes you have the bounce of the ball.
"It's tough in the Six Nations when you come up against one of the big teams. France in Paris is a real challenge, and if you can win the first game then you have a good chance of winning the tournament.
"Hopefully we can build on this and start thinking about the rest of the tournament."
France head to Twickenham next week to face England, who will be well-prepared after their colossal tournament-opener with Ireland in Dublin this weekend.
Head coach Jacques Brunel told Sky Sports the commitment his side showed, particularly in the first half, was commendable, but he was obviously disappointed with the result.
"We have to improve the control we lacked in this match," he said.
"But facing England will be as difficult a challenge as facing Wales, and it will also be a mental test for us.
"We were fully committed, did lots of interesting things, especially in the first half. Even if we didn't master everything, we managed to put Wales under pressure.
"We know they have a formidable defence, and unfortunately we didn't start the second half well and they did."
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Latest Comments
I think we need to get innovative with the new laws.
Now red cards are only 20 minutes, Razor should send Finau on a head hunting mission to hospitalise their 10 with a shoulder to the chops.
Give the conspiracy theorists a win.
Go to commentsEngland played well enough to win but couldnt score when they needed to and couldnt defend a couple of X-Factor moments from Telea which was ultimately the difference. They needed to hold the ball more and make the AB's make more tackles. Territorially they were good for the first 60. Defending their lead and playing pragmatic rugby in the last 20 was silly. The AB's always had the potential to come back. England still have a long way to go, definite progress would have been shown had they won but it seems they are still stuck where they were shortly after the six nations and their tour to NZ
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