The pressure is on.

Warren Gatland is a fantastic coach with an excellent record. He’s won at the very highest level and has led Wales to the top of the World Rugby Rankings following an excellent run of results in the last 12 months.

He’s also an absolute master of mind games and one of the most outspoken coaches in the game today. And he’s been up to his old tricks once again ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Ireland.

The men in green are under a huge amount of pressure after last weekend’s embarrassing defeat to England – and Gatland hasn’t held back in reminding them before the two meet at the Principality on Saturday.

“I was surprised by the Ireland result (against England),” he said.

“They are under an enormous amount of pressure back home with a lot of criticism, given that they haven’t progressed in World Cups further than they probably would have expected.”

It’s been suggested in the past that Gatland has a unique ability to get under the skin of Ireland boss Joe Schmidt like no other coach, with the Ireland boss frustrated that he has failed to get the better of his Kiwi counterpart on a number of occasions.

And Gatland has been stirring the pot in terms of Ireland’s selection choices in recent weeks, suggesting perhaps it’s time Ireland dropped some of their veterans. He also reckons Wales can “derail” Ireland this weekend by inflicting another defeat.

“There are a lot of doubts in the coaches’ minds about who their best players are – some of their players are getting a bit older – is it a time to put some of the youngsters in?” Gatland added

“It’s a massive game for Ireland that will answer a lot of questions.

“That’s why I’m excited. It is a challenge for us. This is professional sport, and we can put a massive dent in their confidence and derail them a little bit.”