Chris Robshaw hails Warren Gatland ‘magic’ while Sergio Parisse warns of Argentina threat

Former England captain Chris Robshaw has been hugely impressed by Wales during the Rugby World Cup and praised the impact Warren Gatland has had on the team.

The Welsh have picked up 19 points from a possible 20 in the pool stages as they finished top of a difficult Pool C thanks to a record of four wins out of four.

Gatland’s men were the first side to qualify for the knockout stages, and Robshaw believes they are riding high on confidence ahead of their last-eight fixture.

Belief for Wales

“You know what? I think they have got a little bit of belief now,” ex-flanker Robshaw said on Planet Rugby’s Captain’s Call podcast, brought to you by eToro.

“Similar to England back here, there wasn’t really many people giving Wales a chance to do well in this World Cup. They had that amazing game against Australia, their biggest victory ever, when their captain, Jac Morgan, was absolutely superb with blood all over his face. A proper warrior.

“Some of their experienced players, Faletau, Biggar, of course, who unfortunately went off injured, and the likes of George North and Tompkins have really stepped up.”

Robshaw continued his praise of the squad after their triumphs over pool rivals Australia and Fiji and believes they head into the Argentina meeting as favourites.

“Their players have really gone about it well and really grown, and for me, I think they look really impressive. I think they’ve come a long way cause even in that game against Australia, which was a grudge game, they just blew them away, and the same with Fiji,” he said.

“Then, of course, they played Portugal and won pretty comfortably and then Georgia as well.

“So I actually think going up against Argentina, I think they look favourites in that game.”

He added on their progress: “I think they’ve turned the corner. Gatland, whatever he does in camp and whatever magic he works, the players always speak about him, and it’s the mindset; it’s not so much his training methods and his approach and tactics.

“A lot of those good coaches at international level, it’s all about the mindset and getting players in the best possible shape, whether that be in the week, the two minutes before the game, whenever, so that once they get there on a Saturday they’re ready to go and he’s definitely found that.”

However, Italy great Sergio Parisse, who was born in Argentina, feels that Los Pumas’ defeat to England cannot be read too much into as the knockouts arrive.

“In terms of their showings on the field, Argentina haven’t been great,” he admitted.

“I really think that Wales have built some confidence in their game, much more confidence than Argentina, but you know, Argentina is a really tough team to play, and you know, from the emotional point of view, they’re going to be on fire for the quarter-final. They have massive support, a lot of Argentina fans in France.

“I think Argentina have probably, at this moment, not the best shape in terms of their attack, but in terms of playing this kind of game and the emotion, the character and the determination that you need to have for a quarter-final, I think it’s going to be at a high level, against Wales. It’s going to be a very interesting game to watch.”

The Captain’s Call podcast is brought to you by eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby.

Tackle investing the smart way and join millions of UK investors on eToro today. The friendly platform for serious investors.

eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

READ MORE: Chris Robshaw feels that referees have lost ‘accountability’ since introduction of Bunker