RETURNING Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland says “it’s probably good” that the team’s next match is home to World No 1s Ireland in the Six Nations.

The Kiwi, who was reappointed last week in place of Wayne Pivac after three losses in the Autumn series, said at a press conference yesterday (Tuesday, December 13): “They’re the best team in the world and rightly so. Getting them first up at home isn’t a bad thing.

“It’s a tournament of momentum. It’s probably the one game you want at home. Perhaps a bit more pressure on them. We’ll be excited getting up for that.”

On the state of Welsh rugby, the triple Grand Slam winner said it was all about creating an “environment where there are no excuses”.

“That’s what I’ve done in the past… That’s what we’ve prided ourselves on in the past. The challenge is doing that in the coming weeks so that players are excited about wearing that jersey and leaving everything on the pitch.”

On returning to the job after three years, he added: “I think international rugby is always a challenge. One of the reasons was remembering the good times of being here, in front of 75,000.

“There’s a lot of pressure but that motivates you. There’s always pressure, as there was in 2007. For us, it’s about working hard as a team and preparing to get results.”

On his backroom staff, Gatland said he hadn’t spoken to any of the coaches yet, and he was studying the WRU’s review into the Autumn series.

“I’m trying to draw conclusions from the conversations I’ve had. That’s ongoing. It’s challenging for people and the roles they are in, but I’ve got to make sure I make the best decision for Wales and the team,” he said.

Asked whether the fans can expect a return to the heady days of his first reign, Gatland added: “I look at success as not about winning, but overachieving. What are the expectations at the moment? I’d probably need a discussion on that.

“You’ve always got to believe and dream. My upbringing in New Zealand as a kid, we always believed. If you work hard, you get results. That’s always been my attitude. There’s expectations as you’d expect... The Six Nations is incredibly important and to do well in a World Cup year. That’s my focus for this year. It’s a tricky group to get out of next year in France, but get out and you can go a long way.”

In a World Cup pool with Australia – potentially with Eddie Jones back on board – Fiji, Georgia, who beat Wales last month, and Portugal, he added: “We’ve had Australia in our group before and had some tight contests, as is the same with Fiji and Georgia.

“The hardest thing with international rugby is the limited preparation time, but you get that with the World Cup... We’ve had success with that... The advantage I’ve got is I’m pretty familiar with the place. I know my way around. I’m not coming in cold.

“There’s exciting players from when I was here last. It’s getting that balance of experience and development in place. The World Cup camps are in place.”

On whether experienced war horses Alun Wyn Jones and Ken Owens will be part of his plans, he said: “These are things I need to think about... Age isn’t the issue, it’s about how you get through the next 10 months. If I look back to 2011, we brought through some youngsters before that. It’s finding the balance.”