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Gatland looking to make history after Italy triumph

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Warren Gatland insists all the attention will be on England when the two sides meet in a fortnight’s time after Wales battled to beat Italy 26-15 in Rome.

Warren Gatland insists all the attention will be on England when the two sides meet in a fortnight’s time after Wales battled to beat Italy 26-15 in Rome.

The two-time winner of Rugby’s Greatest Championship has now led his team to 11 wins on the bounce – equalling a Welsh record in the process – but was left wanting more from his players after Italy made them work hard for victory.

And Gatland admits that, when the Championship returns for Round Three, Wales will be cast as underdogs when England come to town – but that’s just the way they like it.

“A lot of people will be writing us off, which is a good place to be in and hopefully we can just come in under the radar and have two good weeks of training and get ourselves mentally and physically right,” he said.

“We didn’t speak about the record this week at all. We’ll probably talk about it before England and how significant it would be.

“Particularly for this group of players to achieve that it’s something that no-one can ever take away from them.

“We’ve got a chance; we’re at home; stadium is full and there’ll be some atmosphere at Principality Stadium.

“There’ll definitely be no lack of motivation to try and beat England, and secondly break their record.”

Dan Biggar kicked Wales to a half-time lead at the Stadio Olimpico, with 12 points from the boot giving them the edge in spite of Braam Steyn’s converted try.

But scores from Josh Adams and Owen Watkin after the break proved enough to see Wales to victory.

And while the 55-year-old believes his side won in spite of their performance in Rome, he was quick to credit Italy for what was an impressive display.

“I thought Italy played exceptionally well,” he continued.

“I thought the best part of their game was their defence; their lineout was good, and they made it tough for us, defended exceptionally well.

“They looked to play some rugby and created a couple of opportunities. They’re a tough team to break down here in Rome and for me that’s probably the best Italian performance I’ve seen since I’ve been in charge.”