Portugal are Wales’ second opponents, and it will be the first meeting between the two nations in 29 years. The last time they met, Wale won 102-11 in Lisbon, scoring 16 tries.
While nobody will be expecting a similar score against an Os Lobos team coached by former French international Patrice Lagisquet, it is going to be a tough challenge for the Portuguese as they kick-off only their second World Cup finals campaign.
Dewi Lake will captain Wales for the first time at senior level and is one of 13 changes to the starting XV they faced Fiji last weekend. The only survivors are wing Louis Rees-Zammit and No 8 Taulupe Faletau.
“Portugal are a similar version of Fiji, they play a lot of rugby, they’ve got some exciting players, and they like to move the ball around. So we’ve prepared almost in the same way we prepared against Fiji,” said Gatland.
“If you were watching the games from a neutral point of view last weekend, the one against Fiji was probably the most exciting. It wasn’t great being a coach sitting in the box in the last 10 minutes, but hopefully we can produce another great game of rugby.”
The Wales head coach has only lost three pool games at the World Cup – against Australia with Ireland in 1999 and again with Wales in 2015 with Wales, and then against South Africa in 2011.
Gatland’s biggest World Cup winning margin with Wales was a 74 point victory in the 81-7 victory against Namibia in New Plymouth in 2011.
His Welsh side set a World Cup record of sorts in round one when they put in a tournament high 253 tackles. That enabled them to win the game, but it is not something defence coach Mike Forshaw necessarily wants to see a repeat of.
“We’ve referenced the French game against Uruguay and it’s very important we get messages from that. We are preparing for the best Portugal team.
“We have to do our basics well and give them the respect they deserve, but we want to impose ourselves on this team. We know every game is going to be tough and nothing changes in our preparation.
“If you look at their backs they have got quite a few sevens’ players. The like to play that coast-to-coast game, so we will have to cut that supply off with our defence and our urgency to take space from them.
“They have similar threats to the Fijians, so we have to be right on it.”
