Lee Byrne makes the most of his fresh start

Feb 22 2008 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

SIX NATIONS hit Lee Byrne has revealed how he felt like he was “banging his head against a brick wall” in his quest for the Wales No 15 jersey last year.

Byrne has shone during this championship and is one of only seven players to have survived Warren Gatland’s rotation policy and earn selection for all three matches.

But it was a very different story during 2007 when he started just three of Wales’ 15 Tests and was left out of the squad for the World Cup.

Byrne had to watch while former skipper Gareth Thomas and Kevin Morgan monopolised the full-back berth and he admits it was a hugely frustrating time.

But now that he has the No 15 shirt in his grasp, he’s not about to let it go and aims to carry his outstanding form into tomorrow’s Millennium Stadium meeting with Italy.

Reflecting on his time out of the side, the 27-year-old said, “It was difficult for me before because Gareth was there – someone who had been great for his country over the years and won 100 caps – and Kevin had also done well in the past.

“For a while it did feel like whatever I did, I would not get a chance to start.

“It felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall sometimes.

“However well I was playing, I knew those two guys would always be there in front of me. So it’s nice for me to get this fresh start under these new coaches.”

The 16-times capped Osprey admits his omission from Gareth Jenkins’ World Cup squad last summer stands out as the low point of his career.

Byrne was axed after sharing in a record 62-5 defeat at the hands of England in August’s opening warm-up match at Twickenham.

“We were an inexperienced team and that was a really bad day,” he recalled.

“I think being involved in that defeat tarnished me and ruined my chances of going to the World Cup.

“I thought I was playing OK and that I deserved to go, but the coaches had other ideas. That was the lowest point of my career.”

But all that is in the past now, with the rock-solid Byrne relishing life under the new coaching regime of Gatland and Shaun Edwards.

“It’s been great to sit down and talk things through with Shaun,” he said.

“He is really critical, but that is good for us. If you are happy with your performance and go in and watch the video and give yourself a pat on the back, he will point out 20 things that you’ve done wrong.

“He will pull you up on everything, which is good. There are no pats on the back from any of these coaches now.”

Byrne famously incurred Edwards’ wrath late on during the historic championship victory over England when the defence coach raced down from the stand at Twickenham to tell him – in no uncertain terms – to drop back behind James Hook and protect any potential charge down of a drop-goal attempt.

“There’s been so much talk about that, they were even discussing it on TV the other night,” he said. “People are still going on about it!

“We were in attack, but because of the state of the game, Shaun just wanted me to drop back, that was all.

“We don’t have guidelines about that sort of situation, so I hadn’t been ignoring or forgetting any instructions.

“Once he came down and shouted to me, I could see what he was getting at.

“I wasn’t going to argue with a coach, especially not Shaun!

“But people keep mentioning that incident and it’s getting on my nerves.”

Byrne is more than happy to reflect on other aspects of that trip to Twickers, including his second-half touchdown which proved the turning point in the game.

“The try I scored was down to James Hook,” he said modestly.

“What he did inside to set me up was pure class and I just ended up on the end of the pass.

“I dived over for the try, but he was the one who did all the hard work.

“Having said that, I thought the other parts of my game went really well and it was probably my best performance for Wales to date.

“'I hope that England game was a turning point for me.”

Byrne continued the good work against Scotland last time out, so what does he put his blooming on the international stage down to?

“After I was left out of the World Cup squad, I went back to the Ospreys and there was no point me moping around the place,” he said.

“I had to muck in like everybody else and it has gone particularly well for us this season.

“I think my positional play has definitely improved a lot compared to how it was before.

“I look back at the videos and can see that most of the time I am in the right places.

“If the other team are kicking to me, I am ready for it, whereas before perhaps I was chasing to get to the ball too much.

“It’s all part of playing in the position for a couple of years and starting to show my capabilities.

“I’ve also been working hard on my kicking with Neil Jenkins and it’s been going well this season.

“We have worked on different techniques and different styles of kicking and it has definitely brought a different dimension to my game.

“I have learned so much from Jenks and it is fantastic to have a world-class coach like that teaching me.”

Having established himself under Gatland, Byrne says the next step for him is adding consistency to his game.

“I’m quite happy with how I’m playing at the moment – it’s been a dream start really – but two games doesn’t prove everything,” he said.

“I’ve always wanted to nail down a Wales place and it is up for grabs at the moment.

“I know that I am good enough to keep the No 15 shirt and that is what I aim to do throughout this Six Nations. Touch wood, everything is going well so far, but I have to keep it going.

“I definitely think there is more to come and more to improve. That is what I intend to do.”