It proved a bittersweet afternoon for the Wales captain as Ireland proved party poopers on Taylor’s big day and ended Wales’ hopes of a rare Triple Crown when beating the home side 20-0 at St Helen’s.
The versatile Taylor tackled herself to a standstill and still stood out late on when Wales were left chasing the game with a couple of lung busting surges deep into the heart of the Irish defence.
Disappointment was etched all over Taylor’s face at the final whistle but Edwards had nothing but praise for his captain.
“She is the epitome of what playing for your country is all about,” he said. “It’s great she has got 50 caps and I just hope we can get many more out of her as well.”
Edwards was bitterly disappointed his side couldn’t come through with a win against Ireland to celebrate Taylor’s milestone in style.
“I’m really disappointed for her. Her work rate and performance again just shows the commitment she has got for it and everyone else needs to learn from that and react to it on the field as well. If we had 15 Rachel Taylors we would probably be world champions.”
Wales began their Six Nations in style with a convincing win over world champions England and followed that up with a strong performance against Scotland before losing to France which ended any Grand Slam hopes.
Wales went into yesterday’s game knowing a victory would secure a first Triple Crown since 2009 but a professional display by Ireland, led by their own influential skipper in full back Niamh Briggs, ensured Wales lost their second game on the trot.
Wales now head for Italy who stunned championship contenders France in the weekend and Edwards is aware his side will have to raise their game if they are to earn their third victory of the campaign.
“That Italy win against France shows how far they have come on. There is no hiding behind the fact that it’s going to be a tough game but we know three wins from this year is going to be a good campaign for us so we can’t let the good start we had go to waste.”
