Shaun Edwards has accepted responsibility for Wales’s collapse in the first half against Australia and is adamant there will be no repeat on Saturday when Argentina visit the Principality Stadium, where they scored 43 points against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final.
Edwards, Wales’s defence coach, said it was a “miracle” his side did not concede more than three tries and 20 points during a one-sided first half against the Wallabies last Saturday. The Wales captain, Sam Warburton, is fit to face the Pumas, along with the full-back Liam Williams, while the second-row Alun Wyn Jones has resumed training following the death of his father.
“We could have defended better in the first half and I am incredibly determined to make sure that happens against Argentina,” Edwards said. “The tackling was not too bad but we lost the advantage line to their front-five forwards. I am not happy with my own performance: their attack coach, Stephen Larkham, got the better of me. I hold up my hands and it is about time we won a game.”
Wales have lost five Tests in a row, three to New Zealand, and have won three of their past 12. They are struggling to sell tickets for Argentina with the Wales football team in action in Cardiff against Serbia in a World Cup qualifier later in the evening.
“What happened against Australia was not down to a lack of effort,” Edwards said. “It was a team who had been together for four months against one that had been in camp for a fortnight but Ireland hit it off [against the All Blacks] after two weeks together. Maybe we have to learn from them because we cannot hide the fact we have first-game woes.”
The Wales players are ready for Edwards’s wrath in training. “He is not one to sugar-coat things,” said the second-row Bradley Davies. “He is one of the best defence coaches in the world because he tells you where you went wrong and what he expects. He cares and wants to help players improve. We are going to have to take the shots from the coaches on the chin and pick ourselves up.”
