Henry: I've been scarred

13 April 2012

Graham Henry spoke frankly yesterday about the 'scars' left by England's wounding rout in Cardiff 10 days ago, while passing judgment on his own performance as Wales coach.

'I find I'm doing my job better than ever,' he said. 'I'll continue to do so. I know this is a self-assessment but if you know you're doing the job properly, you can bear the scars and survive with some sanity.

'The magnitude of the England defeat shook the foundations reasonably strongly. We went into the match believing we could win. When you're soundly beaten it makes you think where you're at. I thought we were further down the road than we are.

'We're improving but England are improving faster. On a personal note, I have a few more scars. It hurts like hell but you go back to basics and ask: "What did we do wrong? Where can we improve?? The answer is that there's not much wrong.

'I think we got the selection right, the attitude of the players was very good and our build-up was excellent. But we got stuffed and that was very hard to take. I don't read newspapers or watch TV any more because, quite frankly, it wouldn't do me much good.

'I have some idea of the reaction because I get about 50 e-mails a day. You have to be pragmatic and sensible, make sure you don't panic and keep doing the job well.'

True to his word, the embattled Lions coach makes only two changes for Saturday's match against Scotland at Murrayfield, where Wales have lost on six of their last seven visits.

In other words, the Great Redeemer, roundly criticised as 'predictable' by former Wales captain Gwyn Jones, is giving virtually the same play-ers an immediate shot at redemption.

Chris Wyatt and Gareth Thomas, the two casualties of the 44-15 defeat who happened to be the two earliest substitutions against England, remain in the 22-man squad.

Swansea lock Andy Moore replaces Wyatt and in dropping Thomas, Henry has finally acknowledged the need to inject some of the pace which England have in abundance.

Mark Jones, a 21-year- old from Builth Wells with enough ability to be far more than a mere speed merchant, will at least provide Wales with one specialist wing and has the chance to prove it from the start.

No new cap can ever have been pitched into more of a lost cause than the one which greeted Jones on his introduction 15 minutes after half-time at the Millennium Stadium.

'The game was pretty well over by the time I got on so I blanked that from my mind and gave it my very best,' he said.

His presence at Murrayfield completes a transformation on and off the pitch, from looking after 1,000 sheep on the family's 250-acre farm to fully-fledged rugby professional at Llanelli - from Division Three of the Welsh League to the Six Nations.

His Llanelli fly half colleague, Stephen Jones, continues to fill in as emergency full back.

Henry: I've been scarred

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