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.
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.”