Six Nations: Henry holds hands up after Wales shambles

Graham Henry tonight held up his hand and accepted responsibility for Wales’ record 36-6 Six Nations Championship defeat against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium.

Welsh hopes of finishing second in the tournament were destroyed by a superb Irish finish which saw them score three tries during the closing 10 minutes.

Denis Hickie, Brian O’Driscoll and Shane Horgan all powered through a woeful Welsh defence after fly-half David Humphreys had kicked five first-half penalties.

Ireland recovered magnificently from 32-10 humbling against Scotland three weeks ago to at least give themselves a fighting chance against champions-elect England in Dublin next Saturday, but Wales can only go back to the drawing board.

Coach Henry tonight reflected a mood of bitter disappointment at the Welsh camp after what was arguably their worst display since he took charge more than three years ago.

"It was very disappointing. We didn’t fire a shot really - we tried to play catch-up rugby, and they scored three late tries," he said.

"It was a very disappointing performance. We had no pace in our game or sharpness, and we were behind for most of the match.

"Ireland played superbly today - they had 60 per cent of the game in our half and kicked very well. It was a bit of a nightmare for us - we turned over a lot of ball, and it was a thoroughly disappointing display.

"It was 15-6 with 10 minutes to go, but we were clearly the second-best side today. All we can do is pull together a group of people and show some resolve, but I take personal responsibility for a performance like that."

Wales captain David Young could not have wished for a more frustrating way to celebrate winning his 50th cap, and admitted that the players had let Henry down.

"We are hugely disappointed that we let ourselves down, and we let Graham and the coaching staff down," he said.

"Going into this game, we were brimming with confidence, but the basic skills let us down, and the players have got to step forward and put their hands up."