Wales captain Matthew Rees has dismissed the furore surrounding his role in Mike Phillips’ try against Ireland and says he is ready to repeat the feat if an opportunity arises in Paris tomorrow night. The Western Mail's David Williams reports.
"Jonathan Kaplan, the referee at the centre of the Millennium Stadium storm, is a touch judge this time and is bound to be on his guard to avoid any more blunders.
But Rees, whose quick throw with the wrong ball set Phillips up for his try, defended his lineout actions by saying: “It was in the heat of the moment and something which I haven’t done in the past.
“But the chance arose and I took it. If it’s there on a plate, sometimes you’ve got to take it. I did on Saturday and it came off. It’s about time we had a bit of luck on our side. So many times in the past we haven’t had the rub of the green so to speak and we were just fortunate to have that on Saturday.
“The ball has given me the ball, I’m ready to take the lineout and Mike has come into the corner of my eye. I gave him the ball and he’s done the rest. Those opportunities don’t happen that regularly in Test match rugby, but when they do you’ve got to take them.
“I think France will probably be looking out for it when we play them. It’s a way to speed up the game and keep the ball in play and if the opportunity is there against France we’ll have to see what happens.”
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