Wales coach Warren Gatland CAN’T guarantee Saturday’s Six Nations game against England will go ahead
Wales coach Warren Gatland admits he CAN’T guarantee Saturday’s Six Nations game against England will go ahead – but says he’s ‘hopeful’ of a resolution to players’ strike threat TODAY
Warren Gatland insists he is confident Wales’ Six Nations clash with England will take place on Saturday and that a resolution to the country’s contractual crisis will be reached on Tuesday.
Wales’ players are still threatening to strike for the England game due to the fact the Welsh Rugby Union and its four regions have yet to officially sign a new six-year funding agreement.
On Tuesday lunchtime, Wales head coach Gatland cancelled his planned team announcement for the England game, raising further concerns the match was in significant doubt.
Wales’ Six Nations squad is still threatening to strike as a result of the contractual uncertainty for those players in in the country whose deals are expiring at the end of the season.
On Wednesday, every professional player in Wales will attend a crunch meeting with representatives of Welsh rugby’s professional rugby board where discussions will centre on how to avoid a strike.
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
Wales coach Warren Gatland can’t guarantee his side will play England on Saturday
The players want the abolishment of the controversial 60 cap rule, the removal of a variable element of their contracts, and a player voice at PRB level.
So far, only one of those requirements has been met and not even to the demands required which is why the strike threat issued by the players and as first revealed by Sportsmail remains very much real.
But Gatland is hopeful that as talks continue between Wales’ players and the PRB, a resolution will soon be found.
Asked if he was confident of the England match going ahead, Gatland said: ‘Yes.
‘I’m hearing positive things from both sides. Hopefully the discussions will be acceptable to both sides in terms of getting some compromise and we can get on with the game.
‘With the uncertainty of what’s happening, there have been a lot of meetings going on so we just wanted to make sure we got clarity.’
Asked if he’d been guaranteed the England game would be on by his WRU bosses, Gatland added: ‘Not at the moment but I’m confident that with the discussions taking place hopefully something will get resolved today.
‘It’s been a bit of a challenge, but sometimes that galvanizes people and brings them together. I wanted to get things resolved hopefully today and we can just focus on the game for Saturday.’
Wales’ players have spent this week locked in talks with interim WRU chief executive Nigel Walker and members of the PRB to come to a solution. The talks have taken place around their training schedule. Gatland’s squad trained on Tuesday morning, but a session planned for Tuesday afternoon has been cancelled to allow the players to engage in further talks.
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
Gatland did not announce his team on Tuesday but still thinks the game will go ahead
The Tuesday afternoon session has not been cancelled because the players have refused to train or because they have begun strike action.
Walker, PRB chairman Malcom Wall and the Wales players will continue to negotiate on the 60 cap rule and the fixed variable element of contracts.
Sportsmail understands the WRU are proposing dropping the 60 cap rule – which restricts players from playing domestic rugby outside of Wales and also featuring at international level unless they have that number of Test appearances – to around 30 mark.
Wales’ players want it abolished entirely.
‘That’s one of the things being reviewed and discussions are taking place today,’ Gatland admitted.
‘Hopefully there’s a resolution and player are happy with that. Everyone has spoken before about the 60 cap rule and it does give the players in Wales a greater opportunity.
‘There is no doubt in that in terms of the extra preparation they get and not having to go back to their clubs in fallow weeks. There’s an advantage in being based in Wales and being part of the set-up to get more preparation time.’
![](https://london24news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/LOGO2.png)
Gatland is hopeful that a resolution will be reached to stop players going on strike
Gatland admitted he had not been aware of the political sideshow which is now dominating Welsh rugby when he agreed to return as head coach last December.
Talks will continue on Tuesday afternoon.
‘I think it (a strike) is a genuine threat – there is no doubt about that,’ Gatland said.
He then reiterated: ‘Having spoken to a few people today, I am confident we will get some resolution.’