Writing in The Times, Stephen Jones takes aim at Warren Gatland's selection policy.
"Warren Gatland had the grace on Tuesday to do what so few top coaches ever do - apologise and admit that he'd got things wrong. That is something we have not heard this season from Martin Johnson, Frank Hadden or Marc Lievremont and all three have far more to be sorry about than the Welsh coach.
"Sadly, it may be too late. Gatland's decision to send out a mostly second XV against Italy, where two props were minced by the Italian front row, has rebounded and shattered the Welsh momentum. It has changed utterly the mental make-up of the match in Cardiff on Saturday when we have the monstrous occasion of Wales-Ireland and, possibly, the Green Grand Slam.
"Because they failed to take the points that were there for the taking in Italy, Wales now have to beat Ireland by a forbidding 13-point margin to take the title. Why on earth are so many people so sniffy about taking the title on points difference? If they are not there to win the Six Nations then why are they bothering?
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