Tour of
New Zealand in 2016 was the beginning of Wales’s journey to becoming serious contenders for Rugby World CupWales and the
World Cup have not always been the easiest of fits. Every one of the teams from the old Five Nations has made the knockout stages more often than the men in red but they have arrived in
Japan quietly confident, a contrast to days of yore when they talked better than they performed. Remember 1995, when, in a fit of hubris, they declared themselves to be bigger, faster and stronger than New Zealand – only to be mown down 34-9 by the All Blacks at Ellis Park?
“What we have shown in the last 12 years is that we have a head coach who knows how to win games,” says Rob Howley, who moulds the side’s attacking game. He was, of course, referring to Warren Gatland, who is in his final weeks in charge of a Wales side who were in the trough of a slump when he took over at the end of 2007 but now expect rather than pray.