The War of Words is running out of steam. Warren Gatland laughed aloud when the media attempted to breathe life into the Ireland-are-blunt-in-attack narrative after this battle.
"I thought they were outstanding," said Gatland after this 37-27 defeat for his Wales side. "I apologise to Joe if I upset him a couple of years ago as I've been critical of the way Ireland have played."
Gatland added deadpan: “They moved the ball brilliantly well and they were so exciting today.”
When the giggling subsided a follow-up question wondered if Wales were surprised by the Irish approach.
“Credit to Joe and the team and the attacking stuff – they are definitely going in the right direction.”
When Gatland's less than sincere tone was relayed to Joe Schmidt, the Ireland coach shrugged his shoulders and harked back to the motherland.
“I played with Gats, I’ve known him for a long time and we’ve been sparring partners for a while. I thought the same thing: I thought they were pretty exciting. I thought we helped them to be exciting at times which isn’t something we are trying to do at all. I look at our performance, it’s all about going forward.”
Gatland was asked to call the (potential) Twickenham showdown on March 17th.
“I don’t really care.”
