SIX NATIONS: THE WIN mentality. David Wallace spoke of it being there prior to the game against France. It is still there he says and will remain there until this campaign concludes.
However, as Ireland face into a potentially troublesome and physical meeting with Italy in Rome on Sunday, thoughts of the last encounter in Stadio Flaminio and how the championship unfolded brings a negative intrusion to an otherwise positive Irish hinterland. While Ireland came
away 24-51 winners two seasons ago, they conceded a few tries at the end that ultimately cost them the title. The then Triple Crown holders needed Scotland to pull off a shock triumph in Paris or for France to win by less than 23 points in the penultimate match of the championship. Only England could then have caught Ireland, but the world champions would have had to amass a cricket score against Wales. Alas, alas . . .
“I suppose we don’t want to mess up now, having got a great win,” says Wallace. “We know what a big challenge it’s going to be this weekend going down to Rome and how physical they play the game. Every year they take a couple of scalps. We don’t want to be the ones this year.”
By his own admission Wallace had a quiet game against the French last weekend in that his scything runs were suppressed, Jamie Heaslip effectively taking on that galloping role for the day. But he’s aware of it and although his unseen work was an invaluable part of the team effort, Wallace, like several of the more experienced campaigners, is looking down the road and hoping that this so-called golden generation are not missing the big wins.
“You kick yourself over chances missed like that,” says Wallace of two seasons ago. “You definitely do think about it and talk about it with other players. It’s a big regret and I suppose that’s something you use to drive yourself on. I think there is a feeling in the team that we have had regrets and we don’t want to have that feeling again. Also as the team ages and some guys get closer to retiring, that’s one of the feelings you don’t want to be left with, the feeling of regret and having come close to achieving something but not quite having done it.”
For now the thinking is of winning, taking a short time out to enjoy the moment but arriving back into match mode a little quicker than many players would like. For two months they will hope to live in a constant state of suppressed celebration.
“You will enjoy it once you’ve done the hard work and gone out and played the way you want to play,” says Wallace. “Then you get the few fleeting hours of enjoyment, of accomplishment and then your mind switches to the next challenge. Once you start feeling happy with yourself, feeling content then you probably aren’t pushing yourself. You’ve just got to keep going and keep looking at the next hurdle.”
It’s an irony of Declan Kidney’s philosophy that the players have more input, feel better connected to each other, yet they find themselves under considerable pressure to hold their places and get results. There is a strong sense of them having had their fill of false dawns, heightened expectations and inexplicable performances.
“Things are obviously healthy now,” says Wallace. “There is a bit more player influence in the way we are going about things and maybe Deccie [Kidney] allows for that. I think there is more of a sense of ownership, more of a sense of belonging. I think that’s the big difference.”
The Irish team reconnected. It’s different. Maybe it’s exactly what they need.
The return of captain Ryan Jones is Wales coach Warren Gatland’s only change for the Six Nations clash with England on Saturday, although wing Shane Williams faces a fitness test today.
Centre Gavin Henson misses out again after failing to recover from the calf strain that ruled him out of the Scotland game.
Meanwhile, last night Gatland raised the temperature on tomorrow’s match when he accused England of going backwards since the autumn. The Wales coach said that Martin Johnson’s team resembled the Leicester of old, minus the firepower, employed “negative” tactics and often became “disjointed” in their approach.
“England have regressed from what they were trying to do in the autumn,” said Gatland.
WALES: L Byrne (Ospreys); L Halfpenny, T Shanklin, J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), M Phillips (Ospreys); G Jenkins (Blues), M Rees (Scarlets), A Jones, I Gough, A-Wyn Jones, R Jones (Ospreys, captain), M Williams, A Powell (Blues). Replacements: H Bennett (Ospreys), J Yapp (Blues), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), D Jones (Scarlets), D Peel (Sale), J Hook, A Bishop (Ospreys).
