The Wales forward believes the Six Nations grand slam champions will be contenders despite the departure of Warren GatlandWarren Gatland was listening to his forwards coach, Robin McBryde, offer a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the Wales forwards in the run-up to the Barbarians match against Wales in Cardiff two months ago. They had been part of the home side’s management for 12 years, finishing after the
World Cup in
Japan a few weeks before, and were talking about players they knew intimately.
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Gatland, Wales’s most successful head coach since the halcyon days of the 1970s, was largely silent until it came to the No 8, Aaron Wainwright, a player he had capped from almost nowhere 17 months before. “He has only played the game for about five years,” he said during the team meeting that was part of a RugbyPass video documentary, Inside the Barbarians. “He was in a football academy. He has got a little bit of X factor about him and is going to be special. He’s quick, got great footwork, is intelligent and works hard.”