‘Terrible, shocking’ – Wales boss Warren Gatland blasts ‘career-worst’ performance

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has apologised to the supporters after their dreadful first-half display against Scotland in the Six Nations.

In their tournament opener, the Welsh found themselves 20-0 behind at the break before the visitors scored at the start of the second period to extend their advantage to 27 points.

That was when the hosts finally woke up and produced a magnificent comeback which almost resulted in a stunning triumph.

Came up just short

Ultimately, Wales could not quite complete an incredible turnaround as Scotland escaped with a narrow 27-26 win in Cardiff.

Fans – and Gatland – were proud of the team’s response in the second period, but the head coach was left to rue their display in the opening 40 minutes.

“I think I have got to apologise for the first half,” he told S4C.

“It’s probably one of the worst 40-minute performances in my whole rugby career as a coach.

“We were terrible, shocking. The discipline was poor, and we didn’t nail some things.”

Inspired by the likes of Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright, Wales tore into the Scots in the final half-hour and almost turned it around.

In 20 minutes, they took the score from 27-0 to 27-26, but just failed in their quest to claim an unlikely triumph.

There was plenty Gatland could take into their next Six Nations match against England as the head coach revealed whey got it right after the interval.

“Nothing flashy”

“The message at half-time was to do what we wanted to do in the first, bring some tempo, play with a bit of intensity and play some rugby, nothing flashy,” he added.

“I think some guys came off the bench and had some impact, we were so slow in the first half, things like opportunities for quick taps to get us back in the game.

“The players should be disappointed with the first half but proud for the second half, they didn’t throw the towel in and could have won the game.

“To do what we did, be 27-0 down, other teams might have shown less character and start thinking about next week, even throw in the towel.

“We didn’t do that. They kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That showed real character.”

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