Ryan Jones knows yesterday’s Twickenham defeat does not spell the end of his sides’ championship ambitions, despite dreams of the Grand Slam slipping away with the 30-17 loss to England
The Wales skipper said: “We are one game into the tournament and it is not over yet.”
Jones was a key figure as Wales showed strength and character to set up a tense finale at Twickenham thanks to second half ries from Adam Jones and James Hook, but James Haskell’s second score of the day in the final minutes put the game beyond reach.
Jones said: “I think we showed some fantastic character as a team and showed we really do front up and defended superbly in patches. We have to take something from this game and win, lose or draw, this game had to be put to bed on the bus on the way home.
And the Ospreys man, who lead by example with a rock solid performance in the scrum and the loose, felt his Wales team could have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after they had clawed themselves back to 20-17.
“I thought the momentum had swung our way, but there is always a chance you will make an error,” he said.
“We did that and I hope we don’t throw any more interception passes.
“It’s just one of those things and one of those risks you take at this level, and if it had gone to hand it could have been a different story. Small things are huge at this level.
“You cannot afford to come to environments like Twickenham, and against sides like England, and give them a head-start like we did.
“When you have somebody of the calibre of Jonny Wilkinson in that team, he is going to pin you back yards and kick points.
“We fell into the trap, despite defending really well, of being indisciplined and we paid the ultimate price at the end of the game.
