By David Williams
Warren Gatland is the pack whisperer who can turn raw rookies into war-hungry warriors, according to the Wales prop who has seen it done before.
Ospreys front rower Gareth Thomas has had the soft words of Gatland to ease him into the transition to Test rugby since the New Zealander returned to Wales 16 months ago.
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Now, Thomas reckons the master coaxing of the Kiwi coach can make sure the greenest of Welsh squads can quickly come of age when they start their Six Nations campaign at home to Scotland on Saturday.
“”You can tell already, he is breathing confidence into the group and that will be key for us next week,” said Thomas, who at 30 suddenly finds himself as one of the elder figures in a squad with an average age of 25.
“Just to have a bit of confidence in a young group, it’s very exciting to think what we can do.
“Gats said at the World Cup, we’re a country that always punches above its weight. We’re going to have to do that in this campaign as well.
“That bit of belief and the detail we get from the coaches, if we can deliver on what they deliver to us, I think we’ll look good.
“I can’t see a team coming up against us and thinking they’re going to have an easy day.
Since I have been involved and watching Wales before me, nobody has had any easy day against Wales.
“The boys who we’ve got in the squad at the minute, none of us will back down in any fight.” In a tournament of fresh faces, Wales will have the chubbiest cheeks.
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Five of their squad are uncapped, half the squad have eight caps or fewer, and they are captained by 21-year-old Dafydd Jenkins, the youngest Wales skipper for 56 years.
Gnarled old stagers such as Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric and Dan Biggar have shuffled off and there are plenty of the mid-range batch who are out injured.
It means Gatland has had to hatch Dragons eggs earlier than he might have wanted, but loose-head Thomas – who was part of the World Cup campaign where Wales reached the quarter-finals – insists the kids will be alright.
“There’s a lot of new faces here, it’s exciting and they bring a lot of energy. It’s all good intense sessions and I’m quite excited about what the younger boys can bring to the Six Nations.”
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One of those is Exeter lock Jenkins, the youngest Welshman to lead the team since the great Sir Gareth Edwards, who was 20 when took the armband in 1968.
Jenkins was not even born the last time the Scots won in Cardiff, in 2002.
Thomas added: “Daf has come in and really got the group together. He is building the excitement.
“He is one of those captain who will lead through his actions and create the respect for others to follow.”
There has been talk of a Scottish rugby revival for a few years now, but every time they come south and turn right, it’s no more than bagpipe hot air.
If they can’t do it next week, against the most callow Welsh side they will ever face, then who knows when they will.
#SPORT Prop Gareth Thomas says he expects no #SixNations opponent to have an easy ride against @WelshRugbyUnion's forwards.https://t.co/zLRW9xVmrZ
— Radio Cardiff News (@RCLocalNews) January 28, 2024
