Jones: 'No beating the Six Nations'
Wales loose forward Ryan Jones believes his side’s thrilling last-minute 23-21 away win over Ireland on Sunday proved that the Six Nations was the world’s premier rugby tournament.
The match in Dublin was packed with talking points, with the lead changing hands several times in the final stages, and the result was finally sealed with a dramatic penalty at the death by Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny.
After Wales lock Bradley Davies’ sinbinning Tommy Bowe’s try had put Ireland in the box seat before George North’s score brought Wales to within a point of the hosts.
Although Halfpenny failed to convert North’s try he made no mistake second time around when Stephen Ferris conceded a penalty for a dangerous tackle in the dying seconds.
Jones admitted that the match will live long his memory.
“What a wonderful advert for Six Nations rugby, with two teams going at it hammer and tongs and the game won in the last 20 seconds,” he said.
“The drama was special and it was a great afternoon. And it was played in a great arena. We hadn’t been to the Aviva Stadium before and didn’t train here the day beforehand, like we usually do.
“To walk out into an atmosphere like that was wonderful, with all the green flags in the lower tier. The ground seemed to keep the noise in. That’s what fantastic sporting occasions are all about,” he enthused.
The versatile Jones said that it was great to clinch a tight game, especially as Wales have endured their fair share of heartache in close games in recent times.
He said: “It meant so much to be on the right end of a result like that. We seem to have been on the wrong end a few times.
“You can talk about confidence and momentum, but this competition is about one game at a time. They are wonderful encounters and there’s a lot of history around all these Test matches. That’s what makes the Six Nations different from any other competition,” Jones explained.
With three home fixtures to come for Wales, the possibility of a first Grand Slam since 2008 has been raised by supporters, however Jones refused to get too carried away and pointed out that there is still a long way to go.
“The competition is still wide open.
“But we’ve put ourselves in a good position. We are in still control of our own future, which is where you want to be going into the next few fixtures,” he pointed out.
While Jones was delighted by the team spirit shown after Davies was yellow carded, he maintains there are plenty of areas for improvement, particularly in the set piece.
“We dug deep when Brad went off,” said Jones.
“That was the spirit we showed in the World Cup and we’ve managed to carry that on and have come away with a wonderful result.
“Grand Slams do start with a victory, I suppose, and we are in control of our own destiny. It was the start we so dearly needed and it bodes well but it was by no means a complete performance,” added Jones.
The former Wales skipper said that his team would be studying their performance against Ireland very carefully as they look to constantly challenge themselves to improve.
“There will be lots of finger pointing and we’ll tear apart the game, looking at areas of concerns and weakness we perceive that we have and build on them. We’re always looking to improve – and it is a competition where the team will develop as it goes on.
“It is not about resting on your laurels, it is about building on the confidence we’ve gained from this,” he said.
