Wales head coach Warren Gatland at his fifth World Cup Photo: PA/David Davies
People ask me if my heritage is linked to Wales are on the line at this World Cup. My answer: my legacy is always on the line. That's why you play professional sports: you always want to be challenged. I like it.
But for me it's not about protecting any legacy or refusing to solve problems. This is my fifth World Championship and I have probably never felt such excitement.
I've had some fantastic experiences and moments of success in my 12 years in Wales, but now that I'm back this year I see it as a new chapter, a new adventure.
I guess we've done it. half a dozen players will not go to the next World Cup and there will be changes in the future. We have chosen a team for the World Cup, and after that we will have a transition period. It's an exciting time for Wales to recover and reboot after a difficult 12 months on and off the field.
For a small 'tier one' country like Wales it is very important to get the World Cup cycle right so that you go into the tournament with a core of experienced players who have played around 40 or 50 matches and we need to get the next cycle right. .
But now all our attention is focused on Fiji, of which there will be very few. They will be full of enthusiasm after beating England at Twickenham.
Fiji's victory over Wales at the 2007 World Cup in France, eliminating Gareth Jenkins' side at the pool stage, ultimately opened up the opportunity for me to take over a couple of months later. Let's hope they are not responsible for closing the door on me 16 years later!
Fiji team management: I can't remember a more open tournament
But seriously, I think it's great for rugby that we're in the pool with the team that everyone is talking about. There will be trouble, there will be teams that people don't expect and that's what we want for the World Cup. Nobody wants traditional teams to win the World Cup over and over again.
I can't remember a more open tournament. This promises to be the most competitive World Cup I have ever competed in. There are still favorites. South Africa's performance against the All Blacks at Twickenham was quite special and France opened their campaign with a brilliant second half at the Stade de France on Friday night.
But there will be some disappointments. I think it's great that teams have had more time to prepare and the Pacific Island teams have been given a boost by changing the selection rules to allow players with disabilities to come back and represent their country of birth.
Let's hope there is competition continues to grow, and it is possible that in the future the World Cup will have up to 24 teams and it will become less predictable.
This is a huge game for us. Traditionally, we have always been a dynamic team. Getting off to a winning start will help us build and strengthen our confidence. We know it won't be an easy task and Fiji have had some impressive results in the World Cup warm-up games and will be in good form.
If we lose the game then suddenly we have a six-day turnaround ahead of us. our game with Portugal becomes really important. But we will be ready for anything.
Seizing the moment can determine the course of the World Cup
If our players need a reminder of the scale of the task, I will remember the story of our 2011 campaign, when we should have reached the final but could have been eliminated at the group stage.
We lost the first game 17-16 to South Africa ( although I still believe that James Hook's 'missed' penalty was actually converted). And at half-time of our second game against Samoa, I was afraid that we would be eliminated from the tournament. Samoa, then a good team, led 10-6 after Anthony Perenise's try and Paul Williams' conversion and penalty.
Walking into the dressing room, wondering what to say, I saw that Sam Warburton had already gathered the players in a huddle.
Sam shouted: “We're not going home. We're not going home. We didn't put in all this effort and go through all this pain together to give it up now.» It was an emotional rallying cry and I remember thinking, “Wow. I don't need to say anything. We'll be fine.”
We beat Samoa in the second half and then had big wins over Namibia and Fiji, giving us the momentum and confidence to shock Ireland in the quarter-finals. Then in the semi-final against France we still had a chance to win even though we were down to 14 men in 61 minutes after Sam's red card and then lost 9-8.
Meanwhile However, we might have missed all this if the players themselves had not taken advantage of the moment in the dressing room at half-time of the match with Samoa. Moments like these can define World Cups. And to me they are far more important and satisfying than any sense of putting a legacy on the line.
Promoting Rugby World Cup forecasters.
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