Stand-in captain Mick Galwey has revealed his delight at keeping his place in the Irish team for the Six Nations clash against Scotland on Saturday after his team's humiliating 45-11 defeat by England. Galwey, who retains the captain's armband in the absence of Keith Wood, says the whole team is relieved to have escaped the axe and are looking forward getting back to winning ways.
"To be honest there is a sense of relief. As a team we felt we didn't perform to our potential last week when we played against England. Not taking away from England because they are a very good side and they played exceptionally well on the day, but I actually think we made them look a lot better than they were," said Galwey.
"We weren't happy with our performance so it's obviously a confidence booster and we're all delighted to be back in there again. It's fantastic, but when you suffer a defeat like that, being given a vote of confidence is rare. I've been around Irish teams for a long time and I'd say it's the first time ever. Even when you've won matches before there was a chance you would have been dropped," he added.
The Irish lock says his team-mates are wary of the threat posed by Scotland, but are also expecting a positive response to the Twickenham defeat. "We're hoping for an Irish backlash and that's what we are expecting but, at the same time, coming up against a side like Scotland is going to be very tough. The bottom line is we know we have to perform to have a chance to win and we know we just have to get the basics right, which is something we didn't do in Twickenham."
Filed by Tom Grealis
