Henry takes it personally

The fate of coach Graham Henry will occupy the minds of rugby-daft Welshmen after the inept display against Ireland. Captain David Young, who took the field for his 50th cap, insisted: 'Training had been tremendous, we were really brimming with confidence. Graham had worked hard on our tactical game. We talked a lot but we did not execute what he said.'

But Henry refused to seek scapegoats, saying: 'The person who is fully responsible is me. You look inwardly and make sure you are doing it right, which I will do. If you are involved like I am, you take it personally.You feel responsible. Everyone feels it, I'm sure. All the coaches feel it. I think we are all in the same boat.'

Henry's £250,000-a-year contract expires after the 2003 World Cup, though few Wales coaches have lasted their full term. A fear of the man himself walking away revealed itself in the captain's remarks. 'We are 150 per cent behind Graham,' added Young. 'We feel he is the best coach we've had here and the best we are likely to have. We've got to be careful how much pressure we put on him because if he does decide enough is enough, where are we going to get a coach that will come anywhere near him? Let's use our heads.' But Welsh legend Barry John said Henry needs help and questioned whether he would be too proud to take it.

John said:'He has in effect been running the Welsh RU. Someone needs to be big enough to tell Graham that perhaps he needs an outsider brought on board to help him out.'