Wales star on the ’emotional’ victory and ‘pride’ within the group as they respond to fans following difficult few years
Wales star on the 'emotional' victory and 'pride' within the group as they respond to fans following difficult few years
Dewi Lake has reflected on the “pride” within camp following Wales’ brilliant victory over Italy on Saturday, as the home side secured long-awaited Six Nations success.
Although the men in red have finished at the bottom of the championship table, their victory will send huge signals across the rugby-playing nation after a torrid few years of disastrous results.
“The pride within the group, seeing what they did in the game, is massive,” said Lake. “The crowd are unbelievable, and I think that connection to our nation is massive. The boys are responding to it, and I think the crowd are really responding to our players. So for me, that is a massive, emotional day for us.
“It’s been a long time coming to win in the Six Nations, so just overwhelmed with pride for what this group has delivered on the last day of the Six Nations.
“We asked for a performance. We felt – if we get a performance, we get a result – and I think the boys really did that, in particular the first half.”
Wales had full control of the game right up until the 51st minute, when Archie Griffin received his marching orders in the form of a yellow card.
The momentum swung at this moment, with Italy returning fire with three late tries. It wasn’t enough to upset the scoreline, however, as Wales’ 31-point haul was more than enough to ensure their first Six Nations victory since 2023.
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“The result will follow”
Focusing on the future, Lake continued: “It’s about focusing on what we do and what we do well. What we do well in training, I think, is transferring, and I know it’s hard in some of the results we’ve had, but generally, you see signs.
“You see them come in on Monday, the way they talk about it, the way they learn, the way they adapt, and they bring it open on Monday, then on Tuesday. So the group have been unbelievable work with.”
Lake and his teammates have shown plenty of promise in this campaign, but results haven’t always come their way. However, Saturday’s victory has shown that they are on the right track.
“I genuinely believed that if we got the performance, the result will follow.”