By Paul Jones
Nick Tompkins insists Wales are not afraid of double Grand Slam-seeking Ireland.
In fact, the Saracens centre is convinced Wales can go to the Aviva Stadium and “take a scalp” to get their Six Nations campaign back on track.
After two agonising defeats to Scotland, by a point, and England, by two points at Twickenham, Tompkins believes the youngsters around him can step up to the plate and cause an upset.
When asked if he felt it was a daunting task against a side that has won its last 10 Six Nations games and is on course for back-to-back titles having won 38 of their last 40 home games, Tompkins had a simple reply.
“It’s a good test for us, but daunting makes it sounds like we’re scared. We’re not – we’re excited,” he said.
“They’re up there and, realistically, we’ve got nothing to lose. It’s a big challenge and there’s no point in playing a mediocre side.
“It’s going to be good to see where we’re at. We’re going to have to get everything right because if we’re off on any one thing, any one aspect of play, they’re going to pounce on it.
The try that got the ball rolling for Wales in the second half
That Gareth Anscombe × Nick Tompkins combo working a treat#RWC2023 | #WALVAUS pic.twitter.com/xpblxbjRBl
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2023
“We’ve been talking this week about the need to give everything, in every area of the game, all the time. It needs to be for eighty minutes as well.
Tompkins faces one of the biggest challenges of the afternoon in going head-to-head with Bundee Aki in a key midfield battle.
He won’t flinch when he comes charging at him – and he doesn’t expect any of the rising young stars in Warren Gatland’s new-look side to take a backward step.
“We can go there and take a scalp and do something special to turn this Six Nations around. I want them to do that,” said Tompkins.
“We’ve bigged this up enough for ourselves. We’re focusing on ourselves, but the boys know what lies ahead.”
Wales haven’t won in the Six Nations in Dublin since 2012, although they did win a World Cup warm-up fixture three years later.
Now, they need to find a way to turn narrow defeats into victories after losing nine of their last 10 championship matches.
Bundee Aki just loves Ireland @IrishRugby | #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/vifv0TwpSk
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 22, 2024
“We’ve lacked a bit of control in the big moments. A lot of that comes with experience,” added Tompkins.
“You look at the first half against Scotland and we were well off it. But you come to the second half when we’ve got nothing to lose and you maybe throw off any negative emotions, forget what we thought was going to happen and start playing our game.
“Then we got close to winning. Against England, we started really well and took control, but we needed to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
“A bit of ill-discipline crept in, and we had some switch off moments that teams that are used to being in those situations don’t do. That’s the learning curve for us.
“I’m not saying you can’t make any mistakes – but in those moments when you’ve got them under pressure, you can’t let them off.”
