11:10am Monday 15th March 2010
By Robin Davey in New Zealand
LUKE Charteris confessed after Saturday’s disappointing Six Nations defeat by Ireland in Dublin that they had let themselves down.
Wales slipped to their worst defeat in the tournament under Warren Gatland and their heaviest for four years since their 31-5 setback at Lansdowne Road.
Now only Italy at the Millennium Stadium next Saturday stand between them and an unthinkable wooden spoon in a match that will be seen as a major anti-climax after Wales have lost three of their four matches.
Charteris admitted after the Ireland game: “We let ourselves down, it was bitterly disappointing and we’re pretty gutted about it. Whatever was said in the dressing-room after the game was said,” he added, referring to a dressing-down they were supposed to have received from Gatland and defence coach Shaun Edwards.
“The game against Italy will be massive now and we’ve got to finish on a high. The Italians have come on a lot, as they proved when they beat Scotland.
“It’s going to be a tough week for us and we’ve got to prove that we’re a better team than we showed today,” said Charteris.
The Newport Gwent Dragons lock played right through the game for the first time in the Six Nations this season, and he also admitted that Ireland made the best of their opportunities, though mystified by what happened in one scrum the Welsh pack had under control as they made for the line, only to lose possession at a vital moment.
“Ireland were clinical when they had their chances, and though we had control of the game and kept the ball for periods they scored most of their points when we were down to 14,” he said.
“It should be how you react to being down to 14 men, not just the sin-binning of a player,” he added, referring to the first-half loss of full back Lee Byrne, yellow-carded for deliberately throwing the ball into touch – Wales conceding two tries in that period.
“How they came away with the ball in that scrum was one of those things, we were going for a pushover try and suddenly they have gone the length of the field and scored.
“We played a lot of phases, but didn’t score the points so Ireland will be a lot happier than us.”
Wales lost six of their own throws as their line-out woes continued, but Dragons coach Paul Turner has sprung to the defence of Charteris.
“I watched the game on television again yesterday and Luke won everything they threw at him. His workrate was also immense,” he said.
“It seems whoever calls it (the line-out signals) gets it horribly wrong. When they threw the ball to Luke he won everything and it was his best game for Wales by far.”
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