The Dragons back rower was once again to the fore as he topped the charts for Wales in metres (93) and tackles made (22) – leading by example at the age of 22.
Just as he had scored twice on his senior Wales debut against Canada last summer, he marked his Six Nations debut with a try against the Irish to further underline his talent.
“Ireland brought a good physical edge to the game and, in my opinion, we didn’t match that in the first 10 minutes,” admitted Basham.
“We grew into the game with our physicality. In the second 20 minutes of the first half, when we took the ball in motion, you could see we were breaking them down.
“But when we look back on the game we’ll realise that physically we didn’t turn up. We have to turn up on Saturday, especially in front of a home crowd.”
Wales were trailing 29-0 in the final quarter at the Aviva Stadium when the ever-alert Basham’s interception of a pass off the floor by Tadhg Beirne enabled him to sprint to the posts for a try that Callum Sheedy converted in the 75th minute.
“We know the result wasn’t acceptable. The boys are going to be disappointed about the result and the way we performed, especially in the first 10 minutes,” said Basham.
“For me, it is all about mindset, confidence in what we can do in defence and attack. It’s about coming off the line and hitting someone hard.
“We need more of that – getting off the line in defence and just being really physical. There will be no doubt that we will bring that next weekend, there is definitely going to be an edge.
“My team-mates expect me to be chucking my body about, and so do I. It is what I have to do for the team, so I can be happy with that.
“Every time you get an opportunity in this shirt you just have to play your own game and put your own stamp on it.”
