There is undoubtedly a romantic element to this weekend's first semifinal, but it's not coming from the Welsh side. The hallmark of their campaign has been pragmatism and an unwavering belief in both their game plan and physical conditioning.
As Gatland remarked in the wake of their outstanding 22-10 quarter-final defeat of Ireland: "I don't think any team has worked as hard as we have in the last five or six months. These guys went through some pain. That galvanises the team."
It is a team with a single-minded determination forged at two pre-season training camps in Poland and fortified in New Zealand by a pared-down social calendar that borders on monastic. Do not expect two Welsh players to make next Sunday's papers for being out on the turpentine a few days before their semifinal.
Gatland recited an in-house quote from hooker Huw Bennett, who said the team were in "Dreamland" at the moment. He didn't mean it in the context that they did not expect to be around at this stage of the tournament, but that they are a privileged few doing the thing they love on the biggest stage.
"Why would we want to stuff it up by doing something crazy off the field?" Gatland said.
Everything Wales said after the match, whether it was through Gatland, impressive skipper Sam Warburton, defence coach Shaun Edwards or winger George North, reinforced the sense that Wales are exactly where they expected to be at this stage of the tournament. More than that, they will gain no satisfaction in playing a bronze final on October 21.
"We've won nothing yet," said Warburton. "Next week we've got the biggest game of our lives."
Already the computers will be whirring away inside the heads of Gatland and his assistants.
France should take note that Wales' gameplan stripped bare Ireland's frailties with surgical precision.
Ireland's dynamic, ball-carrying back-rowers were cut off at the knees by low tackles, well behind the advantage line.
That forced Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Ferris and Sean O'Brien to go searching for space out wider, negating their impact and playing right into Wales' hands.
It wasn't the only tactical manoeuvre that paid dividends.
Shane Williams was listed on one wing, while training all week on the other so as to avoid a mismatch against aerial athlete Tommy Bowe.
With Ronan O'Gara's favourite attacking target nullified, he instead offered a swag of ill-directed punts that hurt his side more than helped.
Wales are not perfect by any stretch.
When hard-running second five-eighths Jamie Roberts took a knock that wobbled him, Rhys Priestland had lost his safety blanket and the backline momentarily looked fragile.
That's about when halfback Mike Phillips decided to take over the show.
"That's the beauty of this backline," said North. "Everyone's a threat."
North said the significance of the event was only now starting to dawn on the players, but that would not distract them from their focus.
"It's a semifinal of the World Cup - we're expecting big things."
