Dan Lydiate has thanked Wales boss Warren Gatland for offering his Dublin flops the chance to redeem themselves.
Wales bounced back in style from a drubbing against Ireland by beating France 27-6 to revive hopes of a Six Nations title hat-trick.
Gatland could easily have reacted to the Ireland loss by making wholesale changes for France’s Millennium Stadium visit but he did not press the panic button and Wales responded superbly.
Flanker Lydiate was among a number of players under the media microscope, having failed to perform against Italy or Ireland.
“He did speak to me, and rightly so, and it’s not a nice thing to hear off your coach, but ‘Gats’ has always been honest with his players,”
Racing Metro forward Lydiate said. “I would rather be told, than talked about and not be told. That’s the level we are at, and I want it to continue that way.
“You want to know where you’re at. If you deserve praise you get it, and if you deserve a kick up the backside, you get that as well.
“To be honest, from the final whistle in Dublin we were hurting that bad. We let a lot of people down – the public and ourselves.
“We are just thankful that ‘Gats’ gave us another chance to prove ourselves. But it is just one game, and we have to build on this now going into a big match up at Twickenham.”
Wales’ tried and tested back-row combination of Lydiate, skipper Sam Warburton and No8 Taulupe Faletau was back to its best against France, outplaying Les Bleus’ breakaway unit of Yannick Nyanga, Wenceslas Lauret and Louis Picamoles.
