Wales may be closing in on the No1 spot in the world rankings but the kicking coach is ignoring the
World Cup hypeWales used to approach World Cups with hype rather than expectation. No major union has failed to qualify for the knockout stages more often but, as Warren Gatland takes his players on a final march 12 years after taking charge following a ruinous tournament in
France, making the quarter-finals will not prompt an
explosion of champagne corks.
Only winning the final will satisfy Gatland, whose final Six Nations campaign this year yielded a grand slam. Wales are on a record run of 14 consecutive Test victories and have climbed to second in the world rankings behind New Zealand; victory on Sunday against
England at Twickenham would take them top, after the All Blacks lost 47-26 to Australia on Saturday.