Rugby Union: We still have to be more direct

THERE might have been a few eyebrows raised when I went off because of a cut in the middle of the game as it is such a controversial issue.

Teams in the past have been accused of faking blood injuries to make a tactical substitution but this was not one of those cases.

I am now sporting a gash in my head that had to be stitched twice and I was only told I was bleeding when the Welsh captain Jonathan Humphreys informed me.

So there was no skulduggery going on - it's a simple case of being cut, patched up and getting back into the thick of the action.

People may look at the performance and think it was disappointing and they would be right on several counts. We've got to learn to play more directly and cross the game line more than we did. But there's plenty to work on and we're still trying to develop the fluid game that Clive Woodward has been preaching to us.

It shouldn't matter what number you've got on the back of your shirt. You should always be ready to receive the ball wherever you're standing and that's something we aim to put right in the build-up to the World Cup in the autumn.

But despite our stilted display it is always good to come out of Cardiff with a win. The Welsh were so fired up it was unbelievable and the man responsible was their new captain Humphreys (right).

After their loss in Italy last week they needed a rallying point and Jonathan provided that from the outset. I know him from playing against him in the Premiership and he's one tough customer and he wound the Welsh boys up to a tee - not that the Welsh need stoking up for a game against England.

We only really got into the game after Will Greenwood scored his try and more than anything else that was down to a brilliant display from the Welsh back row.

I know Martyn Williams from the last Lions' tour and have played against Gavin Thomas on many occasions. They really fronted up for the Welsh and slowed down our ball at every opportunity so we couldn't get any momentum going.

In our back row Lawrence Dallaglio put in the sort of performance we've come to expect from him. After his serious injury on the Lions trip and a spell on the bench he was back to his magnificent best.

It is testament to Lawrence's drive that even when he couldn't make the starting line-up he was still a full member of the squad and took every opportunity to give us advice in training sessions.

The build-up to the game was strange. The 5.30 kick-off means you have loads of time on your hands during the day and all the time you're doing your best to try not to get too pumped up.

We watched the first hour of the Ireland v Italy game but all the time the TV kept flashing back to pictures of great old matches at Cardiff.

Copyright 2003 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.