Wales coach Warren Gatland: Let’s up the ante in clash against England
Kiwi manager is hoping his rusty squad will sharpen their skill set against tougher pool A opponents this weekend
After watching Wales labour to dispatch minnows Uruguay, coach Warren Gatland said he hoped his injury-hit team could express themselves against England this weekend.
Wales racked up eight tries in a 54-9 victory over Uruguay, but at times struggled against the largely amateur South American team.
"We spent a bit of time this week looking at England and thinking about England, we had to do that with the short turnaround," the Kiwi coach said.
This week’s going to be about up in the head and getting ready mentally for the confrontation
"We were definitely a bit rusty today and England looked a bit rusty as well. I don't think either team will take much from the two performances, but we both know how important next Saturday is."
Gatland said Wales had to improve on the Uruguay win. Six first-team regulars were rested, but there were six injuries and Cory Allen, scorer of three tries, suffered a hamstring tear likely to end his World Cup.
"This week's going to be about up in the head and getting ready mentally for the confrontation. We saw how England played against us in the Six Nations, we saw what they did on Friday night against Fiji when things tightened up, they went back to their forward play," Gatland said.
"Every single line-out's going to be a contest, up front is going to be a mental and physical battle, we've just got to prepare for that.
"It's going to be a tough battle. We saw from the Six Nations, they drove every line-out, they want to control the tempo of the game," he added.