He’s the great redeemer... Howley on why he’s given side second chance after Scotland

SAM WARBURTON has declared Wales’ players are ready to take the second chance they have been handed by Rob Howley and give the public the victory they ‘are owed’ against Ireland tomorrow night.

Acting head coach Howley has come in for a welter of criticism after naming an unchanged side, despite his Wales team finding themselves on the wrong end of a Murrayfield mauling.

Howley staunchly defended his selection by stating Wales had not suddenly ‘become a bad side overnight’ and feels the players who lost to Scotland are still the right ones to go into Principality Stadium battle against the Six Nations title-chasing Irish.

The Welsh players accept they have a point to prove, following back-to-back losses to Scotland and England, but exskipper Warburton said: “I’m very confident.

“We’ve seen it in the past where we have let ourselves down, gone back out the week after and have produced a positive reaction. I’m sure the coaches and players are expecting that again.

“We have points to prove. The second-half performance against Scotland wasn’t up to scratch. A few guys have been given a second chance. There are quite a few things to put right there, as a team we have got the opportunity to do that.

“When we actually look at the games, if we were getting completely outplayed I’d be a little bit worried. But when we look back, and the players have spoken about it, it’s been individual errors that have let us down in certain moments of matches.

“Not incidents that have let in a try necessarily. We go back before that and it might be a vital set-piece that went wrong, a penalty turnover that put us in a position where we shouldn’t have been in the first place.

“We’re talking about the last 15 minutes against England and perhaps the first 15 minutes of the second-half versus Scotland. They are easy fixs and we’re hoping this weekend we’ll be a lot more disciplined, which will hopefully help us through.

“We’re aware people paid a lot of money to come and watch us play against England. The support was fantastic, so we want to give them a good win to cheer about this time. We feel we owe that as a group of players.

“Everything is under the microscope more when you’re in international rugby. But as players we just stay tight and know we can improve with every performance.” WALES coach Rob Howley says he has given his players a chance to redeem themselves in naming an unchanged squad for Friday’s Six Nations showdown with Ireland.

Howley has chosen the same starting XV and the same subs for the Principality Stadium clash, despite the hugelydisappointing 29-13 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield.

It’s a selection which has gone down like a lead balloon with the Welsh public, amid a torrent of critical and angry comments.

But interim boss Howley has defended his decision, speaking at a press conference at the team’s Vale Resort base.

“As coaches, we discussed giving the opportunity to the side to redeem themselves for the second-half performance against Scotland,” said the former scrum-half.

“There were too many unforced errors in our game from 40 to 55 minutes, after a really dominant first half, on the back of one of the best games in the Six Nations against England.

“Obviously, I know things have been said in the week about some players’ performances. But, as a coaching team, we have talked about the opportunity just to go out again.

“There’s an opportunity to go out at home in front of our own supporters and deliver a performance which the players are proud of and for the supporters to support that.

“It will be a huge game on Friday night.”

There had been some speculation that Bath duo Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris might come into the starting pack, but they remain restricted to roles on the bench.

“They played against Wasps on Saturday, which means a six-day turnaround to our game on Friday,” said Howley. “If you notice, the Bath pitch is pretty heavy. I watched the game, watched Taulupe play.

“We think his impact coming on has been good and we have decided to stay with status quo.

“Luke came off in that Bath game and had concussion.

“He has gone through the HIA process and wasn’t able to train over the weekend. So, because of that lack of preparation time we have decided, with a six-day turnaround, it’s common sense for him to be on the bench and come on if needed. It’s about the 23-man team.

“Luke passed the HIA on the day, he has done checks up until this point. He just has his contact protocol to go through and he will be fine.”

In his quotes in the press release accompanying the team announcement, Howley had said: “You don’t become a bad team overnight”.

At the media conference, he was asked how he could justify that comment given Wales have won only four of their last 12 matches, including the New Zealand tour defeat to the Chiefs.

He replied: “If you look at the statistic for the Six Nations, it’s about 70 odd per cent.

“In sport, sometimes fine margins make a huge difference and we need to get on the positive side of them. We expect a reaction on Friday night.

“We had a box-holders meeting here last Wednesday and I thought Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Warburton were outstanding in terms of what was discussed about what happened against Scotland.

“The challenge for us is to make sure we deliver a performance this week.

“Every player has a point to prove when you pull the national jersey on.

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