‘Overwhelmed with pride’ – Tandy and Lake react to cathartic Wales victory
Wales head coach Steve Tandy said that he was “overwhelmed with pride” after his side beat Italy 31-17 to end their three year drought in the Six Nations.
Tandy’s side were excellent in the first half, scoring three tries in through Aaron Wainwright’s brace and captain Dewi Lake.
Dan Edwards added ten more points early in the second period, through a try of his own and an audacious 40-yard drop goal.
Despite a late Italy rally, Wales came through to end a 15-game winless run in the competition, with Tandy capturing the emotion of his squad.
“It was a massively emotional day, a win in the Six Nations has been a long time coming and I am overwhelmed with pride by what this group delivered,” said the head coach.
Despite starting the campaign with disappointing performances and results against England and France, Wales have steadily improved over the last month, despite tight defeats to Scotland and Ireland.
“England was a massive lesson for us, we didn’t impose anything of what we wanted to do and we panicked with our discipline,” added Tandy.
“Since then I believe the boys have grown every week, have got a bit of confidence and had a bit of cohesion as a team.
“It’s a good day to enjoy – it’s been a while – but we have to keep growing.”
Wales captain Lake has had to front up to a number of setbacks for his team over the last couple of years, but the hooker maintained his delight for his young squad.
“We hope we have restored some faith in the jersey and into what this group can do,” said Ospreys man.
“I am overjoyed for the boys because of how hard they have worked. That performance sums up how we have grown in the last two to three weeks.
“The scoreline was similar to half-time against Scotland and to come out and score first, to never give up on the moment, to stay switched on and stay in every play shows how we have learned.
“That was a performance we have built towards and this group deserves it massively.
“We have gone through a lot of emotionally tough things recently, whether that is on the field or off it.”
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