Defence wins championship, so the saying goes, and Warren Gatland picked out Ireland's defeat to New Zealand as a perfect example of how much that side of the game decides outcomes.
Andy Farrell’s side lost a World Cup quarter-final 28-24 with the All Blacks soaking up over 30 phases without giving away a penalty as Ireland pushed for a late try.
The Wales boss, who sat in on his 17th Six Nations launch in Dublin on Monday, was asked how much effect the manner of South Africa’s second World Cup victory in a row last October would have on the game.
Gatland, who was in charge of Ireland between 1998 and 2001, said: "Probably one of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that, from an attacking perspective, is really how good defences are.
"I mean, defences are able to adapt and change pretty quickly, because you see the pictures and then you practice it.
"If you look at the All Blacks against Ireland in the World Cup and [Ireland] went through all those phases and you look at the way the All Blacks defended.
"They defended by holding their zones very much. Ireland played a lot of short passes and out the back.
"By doing that, you’re trying to get someone to step in or come out of the line, and that for a couple of years has been pretty successful, and that’s where teams have been able to create space.
"From the All Blacks, and you’re seeing that at the moment, teams defensively are doing a pretty good job in not getting caught out by those sorts of plays and so it becomes another challenge for us as coaches.
"What’s the next thing? How do we show different pictures to catch other teams, to make mistakes defensively?
"And that’s the way the game is continuing to evolve. So that’s probably from a defensive point of view one of the biggest things I’ve seen."
In beating New Zealand 12-11 in the final, South Africa kicked away 75% of their possession.
Gatland, whose Wales side finished fifth in last season’s Guinness Six Nations and were knocked out of the World Cup by Argentina in the quarter-finals, said: "I still think that kicking has still got a significant part of the game in terms of counter attacks, in kicking to create space, to stop line speed.
"But there’s still stats that show how much kicking in the game does affect the results, particularly in big matches.
"It’s a getting that balance right between having confidence to keep the ball or to play and create space, versus the risks and playing territory.
"So that’s one of the things that we need to consider within the laws of the game and how things are refereed to make the game a little bit more attractive to the fans, particularly in big games when you’re playing in front of big crowds, and in front of a big television audience too."
Wales visit Ireland in Dublin in round three on 24 February.
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow every Ireland game in the Guinness Six Nations on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app, or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Wales (24 February) and England v Ireland (9 March) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
