Warren Gatland backs Wales’ young guns for Six Nations glory, Andy Farrell won’t ‘cut legs off’ new-look Ireland

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has said “write us off at your peril” when assessing his side’s chances at Six Nations glory this year.

As such, Gatland has been forced to name a young squad that includes five uncapped players.

Despite that, he’s still backing his side to improve significantly on last year’s lowly fifth-placed finish, with silverware very much on his mind.

“It has always been the case with Wales that you write us off at your peril,” Gatland said at the competition launch in Dublin. “Do that and you could get caught with your pants down.

“We’ll work hard and be organised for that first game and if you win that, then the confidence and self-belief that comes means you can do well in this tournament.”

Wales last won the Six Nations in 2021, but have finished a disappointing fifth in each of the last two editions of the tournament.

Their World Cup campaign last year ended in disappointment too, suffering a quarter-final elimination at the hands of Argentina.

The fresh blood in the squad doesn’t have the scars of the last couple of campaigns though, as Cameron Winnett, Alex Mann, Mackenzie Martin and Evan Lloyd, all from Cardiff, as well as Bath prop Archie Griffin look to win their first caps.

They will be led by lock Dafydd Jenkins, who, at 21, will become the youngest Wales captain since Gareth Edwards in 1968.

And while they may lack experience, that certainly isn’t the case for Gatland, who already has four Six Nations crowns to his name from his first stint in charge of Wales.

“This is my 17th involvement in Six Nations, so I’ve been around for a while,” he continued. “We’ve seen in the past how this tournament is all about momentum.

“It’s a great first game for us at home to Scotland. If we win that then we can go without fear to Twickenham, with England in a similar position to us by making changes.

“The third game is against Ireland in Dublin with potentially a Triple Crown to play for and everything up for grabs.

“We can absolutely win this tournament.”

Defending champions Ireland have also seen some upheaval in their squad since losing their World Cup quarter-final to New Zealand last year.

Skipper Johnny Sexton has called time on his international career, as has wing Keith Earls, while Mack Hansen and Ross Byrne are among a number of players to miss the tournament through injury.

Peter O’Mahony will now take the captain’s armband as Andy Farrell’s side face France in the Six Nations opener on February 2.

Despite having so many absentees, there are no uncapped players in the squad, and Farrell believes that means the next few weeks will simply be a continuation of the hard work that culminated in their 2023 title win.

“Over the last couple of years we have capped a lot of players,” he said. “Some of those players are under 10 caps or so, some have not been involved in the squad over the last 12-18 months, so trying to grow the squad in that sense is pretty important.

“Is this a new start? It’s not, because of everything we have been through. We want to continue to grow, we want to continue to evolve our game, and you don’t do that by just cutting the legs off it and going again.

“Competition for places is premium, and it has to stay that way, so this is the start of a new Six Nations.”

Meanwhile, Scotland’s Gregor Townsend admits his side will be up against it when they face Wales at the Principality Stadium.

The head coach faced scrutiny after his country failed to get out of the group stage at the World Cup.

Scotland, who have never finished higher than third at the Six Nations, have replaced Jamie Ritchie has captain, instead naming joint skippers in Rory Darge and Finn Russell.

With four debutants in the squad, it could be a new-look side that takes to the field in Cardiff, a test which Townsend admits will be a tough one as they get their campaign underway.

“It’s going to be a very difficult challenge, it always has been for us,” he said. “I think any team that goes to Cardiff knows they’re playing in an iconic and unique stadium with a brilliant atmosphere against a really proud nation.

“Wales were one of the successes of the World Cup. I thought their games in the pool stages were excellent, especially the game against Australia.

“They’ve got a lot of young players who will be hugely motivated. They start with a home game which is normally a really good beginning to a tournament.”