Wales' autumn of discontent – Powell (From South Wales Argus)

Wales' autumn of discontent – Powell

4:10pm Monday 30th November 2009

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ANDY Powell admitted the crushing loss to Australia meant it was an autumn of discontent for Wales.

It was a tough evening for the Cardiff Blues man, who shifted from blindside flanker to number eight because of skipper Ryan Jones’ back injury.

The back row of Powell, Martyn Williams and Dan Lydiate was comprehensively outplayed by the impressive Wallabies trio of Rocky Elsom, David Pocock and Wycliff Palu.

It ensured it was an agonising end to the series, with the hard-earned wins over Samoa and Argentina little consolation for the losses to the big pair of New Zealand and the Aussies.

“A victory against Australia would have made it a good campaign, but let’s be honest, it’s not the best now and we have to go back to the drawing-board,” said the 28-year-old, who started his career at Newport.

“But there’s not a massive amount of work to do and there is no panic. There are areas that have cost us – the contact area again and we should probably have pushed up a bit harder in defence.

“We gave Australia an extra two yards and you can’t do that with the amount of flair they have in the backs.

“We also gave them a head start and you can’t afford to do that in international rugby, it is impossible trying to play catch-up.

“The boys gave a lot of effort and there were some tired legs at the end of the match but there are no excuses. They lost to Scotland last week and we had the backlash.”

There is no respite for the Wales squad members, with the weekend’s Magners League action swiftly followed by the return of the Heineken Cup and the fiery festive Welsh derbies.

Powell believes that is perfect preparation for the Six Nations, which Wales start against England at Twickenham on Feburary 6.

“As individuals we have to get back to our clubs and play well,” he said. “The Heineken Cup is a high standard, we have to all do well in that and bring our form back with us for the Six Nations in two months’ time.

“We are optimistic we can turn it around, we are a positive bunch of people and we have to put this performance behind us and move on.”

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