Gats hoping for Welsh success

Warren Gatland is hoping a Welsh region can make the breakthrough and claim the holy grail in Europe over the next couple of seasons - the Heineken Cup.

The trophy has so far eluded the Welsh regions with the Blues putting up the best performance last season by reaching the semi-final before being knocked out in a sudden-death penalty shootout against Leicester Tigers at the Millennium Stadium.

“Two teams have made the quarter finals and that’s been happening on a few occasions and we’d like to see them go a little bit further. The Blues were unlucky not to have made the final last year,” said the Wales coach.

“I suppose it’s not dissimilar to Ireland where in Munster for a number of years were knocking on the door. Then Leinster have been knocking on the door and finally made the breakthrough last season. Hopefully in the next couple of seasons we will see Welsh regions get to the final and win. You get a lot of kudos [from winning the Heineken Cup] and players come into the international scene with greater confidence. The Heineken Cup is a great competition to be involved in.”

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