The National Times - 'Unknown little Englishman' Sherratt hoping to reverse Welsh fortunes

While Ireland are seeking a third consecutive Six Nations title, Wales are bidding to avoid a 15th straight Test defeat and the championship's wooden spoon for the second year running.

Sherratt was named as the temporary replacement for Warren Gatland after the 22-15 defeat by Italy.

And the Englishman admits that his arrival, for the Ireland game before a trip to Scotland and home fixture against England, could well be the tonic Wales need.

"Sometimes when there's a change of coach the team gets a little emotional spike," said Sherratt, whose day job is head coach of the Cardiff Blues.

"So I think it almost puts them more on guard than they would have been before."

Sherratt dubbed Ireland a "cohesive" unit who "are pretty comfortable in their own skin, so I think their prep would have stayed the same".

"But I think with a change of coach it would have probably just sharpened their senses a little bit as well."

Sherratt, a former primary school teacher who moved into community rugby programmes before being co-opted into the professional side of the sport, had a previous spell with Wales as the backs coach during the 2016-17 season.

"I was referred to as an unknown little Englishman, so I deleted my social media pretty quickly," he laughed.

When asked about assuming potential legendary status were he to alter Wales' on-pitch fortunes, Sherratt insisted he hadn't "really over-thought it".

"It's a game of rugby ultimately - a game of rugby with 80,000 people watching it, and a lot more interest. When you boil it down it's still just the same as a club game.

"It will be faster, there's more pressure, the collisions will be bigger. But that word opportunity is the one we used when we were speaking to the players. We don't want them to get bogged down with everything around the game.

"It's just about taking a breath, making sure you've got really solid systems in place as a team -- how you hold your shape, how you keep the ball, making sure everyone's trying to do the same thing around the field. And then it's about them being really excited to represent your country, but not be weighed down by any type of expectation."

- No talk of losing streak -

Sherratt stressed that talk of the 14 previous Test defeats, dating back to the quarter-final loss to Argentina in the 2023 Rugby World Cup had not been on his agenda.

"I've tried to shield them from that. We don't reference that at all," he said, with all their collective energy put into just four sessions focused on Ireland.

"We haven't looked at all in the past in the review."

But the Gloucester-born Sherratt, whose career has also seen him coach at Worcester, Bristol and the Ospreys, did say that the team's approach would not be reckless.

"You can't go out against a team like Ireland -- a very, very good defence, one of the best in the world, top two or three in the world -- and be reckless," he said.

"If we're not in system, if we're chasing things as individuals, it can unravel very quickly."

Sherratt joked that his speedy elevation to Wales coach had come at a price.

"It's my brother-in-law's 50th birthday this weekend and I got tickets to watch the game in the Cardiff clubhouse," he said.

"They are fuming with me and pestering me every day asking if I can still get the tickets and have I got any free drinks. They only wanted to go with me because I get a pint for £2.

"Now I'm not there they are frightened to death they will have to pay £3.50 per pint. I'm not sure they wanted me there for my company or my contacts! I have managed to get them some vouchers off the club."

A.Parker--TNT