Wales fullback Lee Byrne trudges from the field after being sin-binned against Ireland
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Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards tells Hugh Godwin in the Independent on Sunday that Wales must master the mind games if they are to have a successful Six Nations campaign.
"The serious subject at hand is growing evidence that Welsh players lack that bottle. Slip-ups in tight spots have been costly. A knock-on at a scrum and a lost line-out against South Africa in 2008; throwing away a lead against the same opponents last June; in the 2010 Six Nations' Championship, Alun-Wyn Jones's yellow-card trip against England, Lee Byrne's daft sin-bin in Ireland, and two missed kicks to touch during a fightback against France; a few months later, Byrne's penalty touch-finder off target versus New Zealand, and Ryan Jones conceding a penalty to hand Fiji a draw.
"'It's impossible to replicate those specific, big moments in training,' says Edwards. 'Obviously the more you practise the skill, the better. But experience counts – particularly if not all those experiences have been bad. If they're all mistakes, it will get in your head a bit.
"'It's not just line-outs. It's missing that last-ditch tackle, or giving away a crucial penalty. And they could come at any time. I was proud of Wales's defence in the 2008 Grand Slam but the goal-kicking was 100 per cent going into the final match – a huge part of us winning it. Rugby is a game of momentum. The momentum-shifting incident could be at any time.'"
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