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The unlikely moment Olly Cracknell felt Wales had turned a corner
By PA
Olly Cracknell believes Wales have turned a corner in aiming to end a 15-game Guinness Six Nations losing streak.
Wales suffered heavy opening defeats to England and France before losing narrowly to Scotland and Ireland in the last two rounds.
Steve Tandy’s side finish at home to Italy on Saturday with Wales desperate to avoid a third straight winless Six Nations campaign.
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Asked if Wales had turned a corner in Dublin, when there was only one score between the sides with four minutes left, number eight Cracknell said: “I think so. To be honest, I felt that in the France game.
“You look back on the result and just think ‘Oh, that’s a write-off’. But it didn’t feel like that.
“I actually felt if we just do what we said we were going to do, and set out to play the way we’re supposed to as a team, then we’re going to be all right and be in games.
“It’s a really exciting finale for us and it feels like we’ve been on the journey.
“There’s a lot of excitement and pressure on getting that win but, if we deliver that base and intent we’ve been trying to build, that’s the start.
“So bring that and then a little bit extra, and we’ll be in a good position.”
Cracknell – who lost his place in the Wales back-row after the France game – produced a strong second-half showing in Dublin after replacing Aaron Wainwright five minutes after the restart.
The two men will be club colleagues as well as Wales team-mates next season, with Wainwright joining Cracknell at Gallagher Prem club Leicester.
“It’s good as more competition is going to make me better,” said Cracknell.
“Before last season it was (South Africa’s) Jasper Wiese I was competing with. We had a lot of back rowers last year and you need competitive squads.
“I’m excited for Waino to join and it’s a big move for him because he’s been at the Dragons a long time.
“I’ve been speaking to him where he’s going to live and I’ll help him get settled.
“I was disappointed to be left out after the Scotland game, but you learn and Steve takes the time to explain decisions.
“I came away from that clear on what he was going for and the little bits that I could add to my game, because it always comes back to yourself and trying improve your own performance.”
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