Rugby: Gatland fires shot at England

Wales's Head coach Warren Gatland. Photo / Janna Dixon

The first really explosive contest at the World Cup is more than three weeks away but Warren Gatland has already hit the detonator.

The Welsh coach mocked England's stumbling approach to the selection of their squad and uncertainty about the style they'd bring to the eighth tournament. He acknowledged England's player depth yet wondered if they were sure about their methods and approach.

It was vintage Gatland banter, just the sort of wind-up stuff the All Blacks have heard in recent years when they have crossed the borders of the principality.

He redirected his sights yesterday on to England whose rivals in the same pool are the Wallabies, Fiji and Uruguay.

While Gatland was bullish about his squad's prospects, legendary Wallaby flanker George Smith predicted Wales and tournament hosts England would miss out on the playoffs. He tipped Fiji to cause upsets in Pool A and join the Wallabies in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, as Gatland revealed his squad he questioned how England could leave out quality players like Luther Burrell and Dylan Hartley and still bring enough heat from the bench.

"England have the problem of which way they want to play and who they want to play, who at nine and 10, who they play in midfield and the make-up of the back row," he said.

"It seems to be that they need Geoff Parling to call the line-outs because he is their go-to man there, but who is his partner and who comes off the bench?

"So I think we are a little bit more settled and more comfortable with the experience we have got and the combinations we have got. They have some world-class players and a depth I would love to have but they are probably not 100 per cent sure of where they are going."

England host Wales at Twickenham on September 27, three days after Smith's tournament picks, the Wallabies and Fiji meet at Cardiff.

Gatland has been forced to alter his RWC squad to help cover for players carrying injury. Locks Alun Wyn-Jones and Luke Charteris are banged up and captain Sam Warburton feared his tournament was over when he damaged a shoulder at a training camp.

"I remember taking my T-shirt off and not being able to lift my arm," Warburton said. "For a good couple of days I was panicking. You think the worst, but luckily within two or three days it had recovered."