Get the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Outspoken Irish pundit Neil Francis has turned up the heat ahead of Saturday’s Millennium Stadium showdown with an extraordinary attack on Warren Gatland which borders on the personal.

The former international second row has condemned Gatland’s Welsh-heavy team selection for the 2013 Lions series decider in Australia as “shameful nepotism”.

And while acknowledging that the New Zealander is a winning coach, he has also said he has “the intellectual properties of a tub of flora”.

Francis maintains that Wales will lose to Six Nations champions Ireland if they play “one dimensional” Warrenball, insisting they must change tack to come out on top.

And he’s used some less than flattering words to describe winger Liam Williams, calling him “the narky Scarlet” and referring to “his surly character”.

Francis says Gatland will be the central figure in this weekend’s “soap opera”, citing how he was “unceremoniously dumped” from the Ireland job in 2001 and his contentious team selection for the final Lions Test Down Under in 2013.

The Kiwi picked 10 Welshmen for that deciding encounter with the Wallabies in Sydney, leaving out Irish icon Brian O’Driscoll, with Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies starting in the centre.

Latest:Howley hits back at Francis snipe

More: 'Wales don't care us...they've never really worried us'

More: LIVE: Breaking news as Ireland name their team

That caused a huge outcry in the Emerald Isle and it’s clearly still an issue for some, given Francis’ startling comments.

“In 2013, a Lions team back-boned by Wales’ 2012 Grand Slam winning side beat Australia 2-1 in the series - but who was jumping for joy?” said the former lock in his newspaper column.

“The shameful nepotism of picking 10 Welsh players in the third and final Test rankled with everyone.

“Gatland’s employers the WRU would remember red-coloured largesse in his contract re-negotiations.

“Brian O’Driscoll? When asked for comment could only utter three words - two of which were ‘Warren Gatland’.”

Francis maintains that the tactics the Wales coach employs will be critical to the outcome of this weekend’s “utterly compelling” Cardiff clash.

More:Ryan Jones: My personal tribute to Sam Warburton

“Whether he consciously puts himself in the position or it happens by accident, Warren Gatland will be the central figure in this soap opera,” he said.

“Gatland has had Wales for eight years - you would have thought he might have gotten time off for good behaviour.

“Unceremoniously dumped by the IRFU back in 2001, the Kiwi has been a significant factor on the other side of the pitch, whether for Wasps or Wales and once again he, rather than Joe Schmidt, is the key factor in this game.”

Francis added: “Gatland’s team has been found out in the last two Ireland matches, but he has this uncanny knack of reinventing himself and his team.

“I wrote this about him on the eve of the championship: ‘The threat I see is Wales. Is Wazza a smart coach? Personally I think he has the intellectual properties of a tub of flora, but he has instinct and the rudiments of a game plan and he is a winning coach - two Grand Slams, a Lions series and a Heineken Cup doesn’t lie, but Ireland have over the last few seasons figured him out and he will only cause us trouble if he is able to reconfigure."

Pictures: Remember when this happened?

He continued: “And so the question is, do Wales have the minerals to beat Ireland?

“Let’s be absolutely certain here - they are quietly confident that they will do us on Saturday. They are confident they can do us every time they play us! Their problem is that their game is pretty one dimensional: Warrenball.

“The mythical gain-line is the litmus test of whether you win or lose against Wales.

“They use their big backs to crash over it and if they manage to do that unhindered they get their forwards coming round the corner, and they are difficult to stop if they get over the gain line the first time.

“When England beat them in Cardiff - and realistically England should have thumped them - the key was that there was no Plan B.

“England stopped them on the gain line and put pressure on them along the line, and Dan Biggar had to drop back and kick; and England kicked smarter and held the ball for longer periods and just dominated the ball in the second half.”

Pictures: Inside the Wales camp

Writing in the Irish Independent, Francis added: “If Gatland plays orthodox Warrenball, his team will lose.

“I think he will throw in a few grenades and will unhinge Ireland. If they get early tries and unsettle Ireland the dream may be over.

“For Ireland, if they sit on the ropes and absorb and rely on their smarts to win this game, they will lose. In the pro game of 2015 attack is the best form of defence. If they don’t come to the table with something new or if they stop playing particularly in the second half then they are gone.

“Ireland are there for the taking and if Gatland gets his strategy right, Wales will win.

“Gatland’s teams have caused Ireland no end of trouble laterally. In 2009 they should really have capitalised on their strong last 30 minutes and spoiled our Grand Slam party. In 2011 their ‘upset’ win in the quarter-final was a grievous loss - they completely outplayed Ireland in that match.”

Looking at the Welsh team selection, Francis said: “It is significant that Alex Cuthbert has been dropped - his pace and power are surplus to requirements and Liam Williams the narky Scarlet comes in on the right.

“It is no coincidence that he is a full-back by trade, and yes he is not shy in the speed department but has smarts in the tactical kicking department and is far surer under chased bombs.

“His surly character and experience in this area make him a hard man to pressure - that doesn’t mean that Ireland shouldn’t pepper him.

“The thing about Wales is that nine of those heretofore under-performing Lions will be on duty this Saturday. Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, George North, Mike Philips, Ricky Hibbard, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau. Adam Jones got the hump and retired early before the World Cup.

“Sam Warburton if he had stayed fit would have been the 11th Welsh player picked for Antipodean Test duty.

“That is a pretty serious roster and one that knows how to beat Ireland. It is strangely ironic that they also go long periods without scoring - they didn’t score for the last 40 against England. France and England for a variety of reasons weren’t able to nail Ireland when they were on the rack - I think this lot can.

“Ireland’s performances are energised by the team dynamic - the principle of XV. Nobody on the team plays badly - in fact they all play well - but too often the team plays within itself, and the concept of doing just enough on the day will not suffice in Cardiff.

Offloads in this year's Six Nations

“They will get caught if they try to defend a lead or simply stop playing and roll up the shutters. The days of Leinster under Joe Schmidt powering on in the second half are a distant memory and Ireland rely too much on their ability to scramble and not give away penalties under pressure - particularly in the last 20 minutes of a game.

“Both teams haven’t really cut loose yet and you suspect they are at base camp two ready to make the push to the summit on Everest.

“There is just as much pressure on the Welsh half-backs to produce a game-winning performance as there is on Ireland’s axis. Never has it been more important for Johnny Sexton to finish a game.

“Biggar is just finding the sort of maturity that it took Sexton five or six years to garner. There is no question that he pales in comparison to Sexton but the thing is that he is the sort of player who won’t shrink from the challenge.

“I expect Gatland to pull something out of the bag to unsettle Ireland. At this stage he and Shaun Edwards will have a good idea of what to expect and will prepare.”