Saturday 14 February 2015 23:19, UK
Rhys Webb is confident Wales can bounce back from their opening Six Nations defeat to England with a better performance against Scotland on Sunday.
Wales were dismantled by a rampant England pack last Friday 21-16, despite holding a 10-point lead early in the first half.
But Webb, who described his team's display against England as “a bit lazy”, has vowed to repay fans' support with an improved performance in Sunday's clash at Murrayfield.
"Everybody is against us, having lost to England," Wales scrum-half Webb said.
We have won against Scotland the last seven times, so obviously that will be a positive for us and the boys love going to Murrayfield to play. Hopefully, we can put a good performance in.
"Obviously we want to do well, not just for ourselves and our families, but for the nation as well.
"We need to repay our fans and everyone this week. That is why there has been that extra bit of sharpness at training, and everyone is feeling positive."
Webb escaped from immediate fall-out of the England defeat last weekend by testing out his new quad bike on the Merthyr Mawr sand dunes near Bridgend, but remains focused on preparing for Sunday's test.
"We lost - and obviously we are bitterly disappointed with that loss - but personally, I didn't want to keep myself in the house, I wanted to get out," he added.
"You take it on the chin. We know we can do better, and that's what we are going to do this week. There has been a bit of an extra edge in training.
"Some of the boys were probably a bit lazy on the weekend, obviously not getting up off the floor quickly enough or areas like that, so now it is all about speed in everything we do, and it has been very sharp this week."
Sharpness
Wales, who charged to Six Nations glory in 2013 after an opening weekend defeat to Ireland, have not lost to Scotland since 2007 and have beaten Vern Cotter’s side seven times in succession.
But England's Millennium Stadium triumph eight days ago means Wales will again need to emerge from the chasing pack if they are to be crowned champions.
Wales will be without a rested George North, who took two heavy knocks to his head during the England defeat, and concussed prop Samson Lee - Liam Williams and Aaron Jarvis are their respective replacements - but Gatland has made no form-based changes.
Webb admits that Wales must improve on their speed if they are to deliver a better performance against Scotland, and reflected on his side’s lack of sharpness in their opening weekend defeat to England.
"The speed at which the boys were getting up off the floor, we seemed to be heading for rucks all the time. We had six or seven guys on the deck, and international rugby is all about numbers on your feet and trying to create something.
"I just felt as a nine, and 'Biggs' [fly-half Dan Biggar] was the same, that we didn't have anything to work with. Every time we got the ball, we seemed to be trying to get out of danger.
"This week is about not being afraid to shift it and have a go.
"England had a big pack, and we didn't deal with the threats coming over the ball.
"I think there was one passage of play where George Ford, who was probably the smallest guy on the pitch, disrupted our ruck when we had had a big dent in the phase play. He had no licence to slow that down. He should have been cleaned out.
"The Welsh public probably think we are no good any more, but there you are. We'll be back.
"We have won against Scotland the last seven times, so obviously that will be a positive for us and the boys love going to Murrayfield to play. Hopefully, we can put a good performance in."
