Warren Gatland’s men were outscored two tries to nil and beaten 29-18 at Twickenham to end their hopes of a third consecutive RBS 6 Nations title. It meant England secured their first Triple Crown since 2003 but with this Saturday’s game with Scotland fast approaching, Roberts and the rest of the squad have an immediate opportunity to bounce back.
“Twickenham was a very hard place to be – we were devastated as players and coaches and I’m sure the fans were too,” said the Racing Metro man.
“We’re lucky to have a game straight away where we can put it right. We weren’t good enough but we have to keep improving. We conceded an early try and from then on the momentum was with England. It was a strange game where they would score and we would get a penalty straight back.”
Six penalties from Leigh Halfpenny kept Wales in it at Twickenham but in the end, first half scores from Luther Burrell and Danny Care and the boot of Owen Farrell guided England home.
“Leigh’s kicking was superb but we were gutted afterwards – we gave away some silly penalties and turned the ball over quite a few times,” said Roberts.
“We kicked a lot of ball away in the twenty two, myself included. We have to accept that and it will hurt for a while that’s for sure. We have to put the England game to the back of our minds but it’s very tough. We have lost the chance to win the Championship but we have no other option than to learn from this.”
Last Sunday’s game saw both sides penalised on a regular basis. It gave both Farrell and Halfpenny plenty of chances at goal, neither missing a kick all afternoon.
“We got back into it but then they would kick off and get some points,” Roberts added. “Rugby at this level is all about momentum and we just couldn’t quite get it back. England had two early tries and we weren’t quite on the money defensively – the tries came on the back of our mistakes.
“I thought we were better in the second half but the points on the board killed us really. We work in an honest environment here and the response has to come from the players. We have to put our hands up and raise our game for this Saturday.”
Scotland are the visitors to the Millennium Stadium this weekend as Wales look to end the 2014 RBS 6 Nations with a bang. Gatland will have to do without goal kicker Halfpenny though, who suffered a dislocated right shoulder in a tackle with Burrell at Twickenham.
“I’m gutted for Leigh, he put his body on the line in stopping a certain try and he has hurt his shoulder doing it,” said Roberts. “But you have to give him credit for that – we all send our best wishes to him.”
On the challenge of Scotland, Roberts commented: “It’s been an up and down Championship but we haven’t found a consistency of performance away from the Millennium Stadium and that’s disappointing. This Saturday is a must win game for us. Scotland will be hurting from the France game on Saturday and they will be a tough opponent.
“Their centres have improved massively. They are two physical players and Scott Johnson has put faith in them throughout the tournament. They’ll miss Lamont as he always causes us problems but there is danger throughout their side.
“If I’m selected, it’s two more physical centres and a case of putting the body on the line again.”
