Wales caretaker coach Rob Howley paid tribute to his charges after their 26-9 win over Italy in difficult conditions in Rome on Saturday.
Despite torrential rain, the Six Nations champions coped well and sealed the win with second half tries from Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert.
"I am very pleased," Howley said.
"We adapted really well to the conditions and the deluge. We showed patience and composure and we took our opportunities.
"Our scrum was very impressive and gave us the platform. International rugby is about fine margins, and it was testament to the attitude of the players today and their application in difficult conditions.
"The adaptability of the team is very good, and they were once again very well led by Ryan (Jones)."
Captain Jones said his side made the most of the weather which had a major effect on their style of play.
"The first half was tough," he explained.
"The conditions had a huge impact on the way both teams played, but our game-management was excellent," skipper Jones said.
"All 23 players showed composure and maturity. It was a good day at the office in the scrum - there are six very happy front-row forwards in our changing room.
"The attitude was superb. You can never question that. We dug really deep today, and it showed in the way we played.
Comments
rugby_rockstar says...
Hooked one!
Posted 13:01 26th February 2013
roddyo says...
Its a shame the blind referee in Twickenham was present otherwise France could well have beaten England and the Wales game would have far more on it. How lucky they were he missed the early punch by Farrel , the offside in the ruck that led to the try, Vunipolas great maw slowing the ball down. Can we cite refs
Posted 09:29 26th February 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
Melkdave,
yeah I was bemused by that too. Their one dimensional carrying game is well suited to wet weather. I wonder if they'll leave the roof open when they England in Cardiff, if not, then their "adaptability" will probably fall flat on its face.
Posted 15:05 25th February 2013
melkdave says...
Adaptabilty really,Wales played as they always do iirc,the one big posative was they destroyed the italian scrum ,1st half ,and it never really recovered.But as RH says a win is a win ,and it was a deserved victory,Expect Wales to start playing with even more confidance from now on.Though 2 tough tests ahead
Posted 00:24 24th February 2013
taffrugby15 says...
It's a shame Wales lost to Ireland as we could be looking at an historic Grand Slam. Instead we are looking at a (fairly) successful 6N where we will in all likelihood come 2nd to England after beating them at home in the last game of the championship. Let's be honest. They're not really likely to lose to Italy, and Wales will have to make up a huge amount of points to beat England on points difference.
Posted 23:21 23rd February 2013