Wales tour of Australia
Gatland flies in to rally Wales
ESPN Staff
June 13, 2012
Wales coach Warren Gatland dictates proceedings, Wales training session, Vale of Glamorgan Resort, Cardiff, Wales, August 4, 2011
Warren Gatland will provide some key guidance ahead of Wales' second Test with Australia © Getty Images
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Wales boss Warren Gatland is set to fly into Melbourne tonight to give the team a vital lift ahead of their second Test with the Wallabies on Saturday.

Wales lost the first Test last Saturday with caretaker coach Rob Howley taking charge of the side. But both Howley and assistant Rob McBryde have said that Gatland's - who has been sidelined after suffering two broken ankles back home in New Zealand - arrival is "imminent" and the Kiwi is expected to give some input in Wales' final two sessions before their match on Saturday.

Howley has a big call to make in the back-row ahead of the clash with Toby Faletau sidelined and Justin Tipuric impressing against the Brumbies on Tuesday. Howley has admitted that he is considering switching skipper Sam Warburton to No.8 to accommodate Tipuric at openside with McBryde backing this up.

"We've certainly got to consider it, he [Warburton] has played there before," McBryde told the BBC . "I know that we used him as a number eight back in 2009 on the America-Canada tour.There's a bit of heat on the captain at the moment without doubt.

"His [Tipuric] form at the moment warrants certainly a place in the match 22, if not a starting place.The effect he's had in the last two games as well as his performances for the Ospreys, he really does stand out so at the moment he's giving us a bit of a headache."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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