Gatland takes charge of his first match at Twickenham, a venue the Three Feathers have not won at since 1988, and believes his players have the ability to get a result on the opening weekend of the championship.
He said: “England’s squad doesn’t hold any fears for me. I know a lot of players well from my time at Wasps and we know their strengths and weaknesses. My players shouldn’t have any fear in believing they can get a result there and I’ve been in this situation before with Ireland.
“We have a list of things we want to tick off as a squad and one of them for me as a coach is to win at Twickenham – if not this year, then in the next few years.
“You have to go out there with self-belief and know you can compete and do a job. If there are any doubts Twickenham can be a really long day at the office. But the players should not get daunted by the atmosphere. They should relish the opportunity to go there with some confidence and belief.”
Wales are ranked tenth in the world, an all-time low, but Gatland is in optimistic mood following the impressive displays of the Ospreys and the Cardiff Blues who both qualified for the last eight of the Heineken Cup last weekend.
Gatland said: “This tournament is going to be about the top two inches, and the players should look at those European results and think ‘we can go to Twickenham and get something’.
“I was talking to Shaun Edwards the other day and said ‘if we get a result in the first game we have then got two games at home and anything can happen’.
“We have to go in there with that dream that you can achieve something. That is the approach we are going to take into this RBS Six Nations. If we get something out of the game, we have a chance of doing really well in this tournament.”
