Six Nations: Wales head coach Warren Gatland urging George North to shine

Wales head coach Warren Gatland admits much is expected of star wing George North in the forthcoming Six Nations.

The towering 22-year-old Northampton star, who has scored 19 tries in 45 Tests for Wales, is arguably Gatland's main try-threat when they host England in Friday's tournament opener at the Millennium Stadium.

"We had a good chat to George," Gatland said. "We don't think he has played that well in the Welsh jersey in the last few games, so there is a lot of pressure and expectation on him to perform.

We had a good chat with George. We don't think he has played that well in the Welsh jersey in the last few games, so there is a lot of pressure and expectation on him to perform.

"But one of the things he has done for Wales is that he has scored tries, and he continues to do that for his club as well.

"He does have that X-factor. We are looking for a big performance from him on Friday night.

"We are looking for him to get a lot of touches, get his hands on the ball and a high work-rate, and if he gets lots of touches and his work-rate is high, he will create something, and that is what we are looking for from him.

"You look at every situation differently, and we are giving him that opportunity to go out there, telling him that a couple of his performances haven't been as good as they can be, and just what the expectations are for him."

Wales announced their team on Monday, and it contains 11 survivors from the side that put England to the sword in Cardiff two years ago.

Gatland said of the selection process: "We told the players (the team) this morning.

"What normally happens in Wales is that when the players know, it doesn't take long for reporters to ring around and it is in the paper tomorrow. We were looking to stop any of that speculation.

"It wasn't the hardest team in the world to pick. There are no injuries and everyone has trained this morning, which is good. Once we had told the players, it's just easy enough to announce the team publicly.

"We decided to name the team early to give the players the best possible chance of preparation.

"It was a tough call on the two changes we have made from the side that beat South Africa. But it is good to have these and other tough selection decisions, and it's a strong position to be in."