Saturday 2 February 2013 19:40, UK
Interim head coach Rob Howley rued a nightmare start to Wales' RBS Six Nations title defence after his side's comeback effort fell short in a 30-22 defeat to Ireland in Cardiff.
Howley is still waiting to taste victory against a Test playing nation while in charge of his country but rejected suggestions his squad were not responding to his coaching ideas. "We were disappointed to lose another try in the first two minutes of the second half, but to come back from 30 points to three down to where we were... I think it is a silly question to ask about players buying in," he added. "It reminded me of the game against Scotland here a few years ago (where Wales scored 17 points in the final few minutes to snatch a remarkable win). "We probably left four tries out there. We had two situations where we did not finish off two against ones and there were a couple of poor decisions in their 22. "But the players showed a lot of character, which you want to see as a coach. It's a shame we couldn't score a fraction earlier in the second half. If we had I think that game could have had a different ending."
