As Wales attempt to banish the spectre of their last BT Murrayfield humbling at the hands of Scotland, Warren Gatland doesn’t sense an iota of fear amongst his team’s collective psyche.
Gatland’s charges are in the box seat in the 2019 Guinness Six Nations, sitting pretty at the top of the standings with three wins from three, having notched up 12 consecutive Test victories.
But the last time they visited Edinburgh in Rugby’s Greatest Championship in 2017, they were beaten 29-13.
In Round Four of this year’s Championship, Wales are out to put things right and Gatland reckons that his team possess the requisite character to do so.
“We’re a team that is definitely maturing,” added Gatland.
“They can go through phases in a game where we’re under pressure but that doesn’t seem to rock them.
“They know that they will get an opportunity at some stage in the game. The maturity in the team; not panicking and having that belief that they can come through and win a game.
“That’s been massive for this team. I don’t see any fear in their eyes or any trepidation.
“The way that they’re preparing, there’s a confidence within the squad surrounding their own ability and they have belief in themselves and each other.”
Naturally, the onus will be on Saturday’s visitors to maintain their push for the Guinness Six Nations crown but Wales head coach Gatland expects Gregor Townsend’s troops to prove a fearsome proposition.
“They’re going to be tough. There’s no doubt that their record at BT Murrayfield has been very impressive and they are hard to beat there for any team,” he said.
“They’ll be disappointed and hurting from that performance last week against France in Paris. We are well aware of their threat.
“The players that were involved two years ago were pretty disappointed with that result and that performance. We’ve got a big challenge on our hands for a couple of reasons.”
