Wales assistant coach Jenkins' message to players

SPOTLIGHT: Wales players need to unshackle themselves and ‘get back on the horse’ when they face the Wallabies on Sunday, according to assistant coach Neil Jenkins.

Fiji recorded a 24-19 victory in Cardiff last weekend, consigning Wales to a record-equalling 10th straight loss.

Assistant coach Jenkins, however shed the positives on their losing streak.

“It was a game that was there for us on Sunday,” he said of the Fiji match.

“It’s probably been the same in most of the 10-game run. A couple of errors cost us the game.

“You get disappointed. You want to win and when you don’t, you do feel upset. You’re desperate to be successful. But you have to get back on the horse with a tough game coming.

“The boys have been pretty good since they’ve come back in. We’re more than capable of winning and we’ve got to show that on Sunday.”

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A lack of experience in the squad was “no excuse” the former Wales and British & Irish Lions utility back said.

“We can probably hide behind that, but Test rugby is an uncompromising place,” he said.

“We’ve made errors and it’s costly. We’ve done 80 percent of things right but it’s the other 20 percent we need to get right.”

Jenkins added: “We’ve got a lot of talent in the squad. We need to be on it on Sunday else they’ll exploit it.”

Head coach Warren Gatland was under pressure in his second stint as Wales coach, but he ‘understands it’, Jenkins said.

“It’s common sense we’re under pressure. At the end of the day we’re doing our utmost to win. ‘Gats’ has been his usual self. He works hard and keeps going.”

The players, Jenkins said, needed to grow in confidence.

“If we keep working the way we are there’s no doubt we can get over the line. Once we break the shackles, I think we can be dangerous,” he said.

“Test rugby comes with its own pressures. Sometimes it’s about playing without the shackles. We need to put that into the team.”

“We know Australia are going to be a good side and full of confidence after winning at Twickenham for the first time in a long time,” he said of the Wallabies’ 42-37 victory over England.

“We’re excited for the challenge. Whether we’ve lost eight or 10 on the bounce, Test football is about winning. We’re more than capable of doing that.”