lot of praise for what we'd achieved in the 2011 Rugby World Cup out in New Zealand, where we'd finished fourth. The World Cup was a brilliant experience, but I felt we could have done much more. And it was really hard to go out the way we did, losing the semi-final to France by just one point.
So as a group of players, we felt quite disappointed coming home. We'd had a really good chance and chances don't come around that often. It was an opportunity missed. However, there was a lot of praise for us in the press, with people saying that this was the team for the future. But as players you don't just want to be talked about. You want to win things! The only place to do your talking is on the field and we'd lost that semi-final.
The bunch of boys who are with Wales at the moment are all pushing towards the same goal. When we are in training, we really spur each other on and it's a great environment to be in. So there was pressure on us going into the Six Nations, from inside the camp as much as from outside.
But we were full of confidence. The buildup to the World Cup, with all the months of training and fitness work, had put us in such a good place. Whoever we were up against, we believed we could beat them. So everyone was looking forward to the opening game of the championship against Ireland and determined to make a good start.
Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be part of that Dublin match. It's funny really what happened, although it didn't feel funny at the time. In the first game I had for the Dragons after coming back from the World Cup, I got injured against Italian team Prato. Their blindside flanker tackled me and I hurt my ankle as I went down. That put me out for a couple of weeks. Then, towards the end of January, Prato came over for the return and guess what?
The same guy tackled me again and exactly the same thing happened! It was Sod's Law! If I ever come across him again, I'll try and run away from him!
I was really fed up leaving the field that day because I didn't know how bad it was or how long I would be out for, and I knew the Six Nations was coming up. However, Wales still took me to their pre-tournament training camp in Poland and I was able to do a fair amount of work off my feet. I was in the pool every day and it's just good to be in that environment, even if you are injured. You want to push on.
The Welsh medical staff are world class. They proved that with the work they did with me in the World Cup to get me back to fitness after another ankle injury. Me and my ankle! If there is any chance of getting you back fit to play, they will get you there. It's hard for a player, trying to come back after injury. Any chance you get to be involved, you always say you'll play. And in every game, all the boys are carrying injuries. You've always got some little niggle or pain. That's just the physical nature of the sport. I really wanted to play against Ireland, but because I wasn't quite right, I could have missed a tackle where they scored a try. I could have made a fool of myself and been dropped right out of the team and had to wait another year to get my place back. I wasn't quite ready so I had to miss out, with Ryan Jones coming in at No 6. It's just one of those things.
I didn't travel to Dublin for the game. I had had an injection in my ankle to kill the pain, so I basically had my feet up for three days, just stewing in my house in Newport, and ended up watching the match on television.
I don't like watching games, especially when it's your team that's playing. It kills you, watching it. I'm not a good spectator and I was on tenterhooks the whole game. You almost break into a sweat because you know what the players are going through, and go through it with them, blow for blow.
In fact it turned out to be a really exciting match, although it just about wrecked me. A real cliffhanger, with the lead swinging to and fro. In the end, it all hinged on a penalty from the Wales fullback Leigh
So as a group of players, we felt quite disappointed coming home. We'd had a really good chance and chances don't come around that often. It was an opportunity missed. However, there was a lot of praise for us in the press, with people saying that this was the team for the future. But as players you don't just want to be talked about. You want to win things! The only place to do your talking is on the field and we'd lost that semi-final.
The bunch of boys who are with Wales at the moment are all pushing towards the same goal. When we are in training, we really spur each other on and it's a great environment to be in. So there was pressure on us going into the Six Nations, from inside the camp as much as from outside.
But we were full of confidence. The buildup to the World Cup, with all the months of training and fitness work, had put us in such a good place. Whoever we were up against, we believed we could beat them. So everyone was looking forward to the opening game of the championship against Ireland and determined to make a good start.
Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be part of that Dublin match. It's funny really what happened, although it didn't feel funny at the time. In the first game I had for the Dragons after coming back from the World Cup, I got injured against Italian team Prato. Their blindside flanker tackled me and I hurt my ankle as I went down. That put me out for a couple of weeks. Then, towards the end of January, Prato came over for the return and guess what?
The same guy tackled me again and exactly the same thing happened! It was Sod's Law! If I ever come across him again, I'll try and run away from him!
I was really fed up leaving the field that day because I didn't know how bad it was or how long I would be out for, and I knew the Six Nations was coming up. However, Wales still took me to their pre-tournament training camp in Poland and I was able to do a fair amount of work off my feet. I was in the pool every day and it's just good to be in that environment, even if you are injured. You want to push on.
The Welsh medical staff are world class. They proved that with the work they did with me in the World Cup to get me back to fitness after another ankle injury. Me and my ankle! If there is any chance of getting you back fit to play, they will get you there. It's hard for a player, trying to come back after injury. Any chance you get to be involved, you always say you'll play. And in every game, all the boys are carrying injuries. You've always got some little niggle or pain. That's just the physical nature of the sport. I really wanted to play against Ireland, but because I wasn't quite right, I could have missed a tackle where they scored a try. I could have made a fool of myself and been dropped right out of the team and had to wait another year to get my place back. I wasn't quite ready so I had to miss out, with Ryan Jones coming in at No 6. It's just one of those things.
I didn't travel to Dublin for the game. I had had an injection in my ankle to kill the pain, so I basically had my feet up for three days, just stewing in my house in Newport, and ended up watching the match on television.
I don't like watching games, especially when it's your team that's playing. It kills you, watching it. I'm not a good spectator and I was on tenterhooks the whole game. You almost break into a sweat because you know what the players are going through, and go through it with them, blow for blow.
In fact it turned out to be a really exciting match, although it just about wrecked me. A real cliffhanger, with the lead swinging to and fro. In the end, it all hinged on a penalty from the Wales fullback Leigh
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