Hurt Wales coach Lynn needs 'good pre-season'
Women's Six Nations: Italy v WalesVenue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Date: Saturday, 26 April Kick-off: 12:15 BSTCoverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport online, listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru
Wales' new head coach Sean Lynn is not used to losing and when he does it cuts him deeply. A proud Welshman, Lynn came into the top job after securing a third successive Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) title with Gloucester-Hartpury.During those three leagues seasons his side lost only six games, but his transition to Test rugby has shown it to be an entirely different ball game. After a closely fought defeat by Scotland in the opening round of the Women's Six Nations, Lynn saw his side blown away by the power of England, France and Ireland.Wales must, at the very least, beat Italy in the final round on Saturday if they are to avoid a successive wooden spoon.
Speaking after Sunday's 40-14 loss to Ireland at Rodney Parade, Lynn's disappointment was clear to see. "Really hurt, the players are hurt, the staff are hurt," he said."But look, this is an Ireland side that beat New Zealand and we have got to start turning pressure into points."Wales were again outmuscled in key areas of the game as they missed 28 tackles and conceded 18 penalties.Asked if that was a concern, Lynn said: "Something what we are looking at is the collision dominance, we've just got to be a little bit more streetwise and clever on how we're trying to play."
Expectations on Wales in this year's championship were always going to be measured given the limited time Lynn had with the players.But they may be a little higher come the Rugby World Cup, which kicks-off in England this summer.Lynn is confident he can get Wales firing for their tournament opener against Scotland on 23 August. The players report for camp in the first week of June. "I need a good pre-season with them, put my stamp on it, just making sure that we're training with intensity and accuracy," Lynn said."I just need to make sure that we are a 60-70 minute team and are going to be a side that stays in the fight for as long as we can."I'm starting to implement a little at what I'm looking at, but pre-season is going to be big for us."
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