10:20am Friday 19th March 2010
By Iwan Davies
LEE Byrne confessed he feared being dropped after his “stupid” sin-binning in the toothless defeat to Ireland last week put his international future in jeopardy.
Byrne’s ten minutes off the field in Dublin was disastrous for Wales as they shipped a commensurate number of points during his absence.
The Ospreys man, a revelation during 2008’s Grand Slam campaign, said he needs to atone for his sin-binning with a big game against Italy tomorrow.
Speaking about his yellow card for tapping the ball out of Ireland scrum-half Tomas O’Leary’s hands at a ruck deep in enemy territory, Byrne confessed: “It was stupidity – all of my own making. I am relieved and lucky to be playing against Italy this weekend.”
With Wales’ indiscipline proving ruinously expensive in both away defeats to England and Ireland in this Six Nations, Byrne said he feared getting the chop: “This is the most pressure I have ever come under in my international career.
“I need to put a performance in against Italy to justify why they have picked me again.
‘It was a mistake (sin-binning), something I regret and I have to put it behind me and move on.
‘I have been worried about not being picked all week and rightly so, I am just glad I have got a chance to put things right straight away. Some people aren’t as fortunate.”
And in words that resonate with those of his Ospreys coach Jonathan Humphreys 14 years ago after he skippered Wales to an embarrassing 30-17 defeat at Lansdowne Road, Byrne said this has been a hell of a tough week for him: “To be honest, I haven’t left the house yet, I have been too scared to leave.
“The curtains have been closed, the gates have been locked. I have not seen anyone apart from one bloke in the garage shouting that I was on the back page of the paper.”
Byrne said he understands why fans are on the team’s back and added he wants to give them something to shout about tomorrow: “People in Welsh rugby are passionate, they pay good money to watch games, people have their opinion and I just want to put things right on Saturday.”
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