IT HAS taken Wales outside-half Ceri Sweeney a long time, but he finally made it on Saturday - the first time he'd been on the winning side for over seven months, writes Robin Davey.
He dropped a goal in Wales' 23-9 victory and said afterwards it was the first time since January, when former club side Pontypridd beat Connacht, that his team had won a game.
"We didn't have a lot of possession, but it was a really good effort," said Sweeney. "We'd been practising a few things which came off.
"The last game I won was against Connacht in January for Pontypridd. I'd been dying to get a win for Wales, now I have.
"There's a long way to go, but we're going to the World Cup on the back of two wins, which is good for confidence.
"We put a big effort in in defence. They had 15 minutes' pressure at one stage, but our defence held out.
"The intensity had been more in training and we had a good think about our game plan. We'd been giving silly penalties away, but it's nice to get a win."
Sweeney says he is happy playing with Iestyn Harris at inside centre.
"I find it easy with Iestyn because both of us are 10s and we can split the field up, it gives us more of an option," he said.
Props Duncan and Adam Jones both boosted their chances of making the World Cup squad. Tight head Adam, in his second appearance and still only 22, says he has brought his weight down from 22 stone 8lb to 19st 11lb.
"I was quite a lump, in fairness," he joked, adding about the rise in his fortunes: "Last year it was Pontypool in pre-season, this year it's Scotland, which is a bit different, no disrespect to Pontypool."
Loose head Duncan admitted: "The boys showed good character, everyone dug in and showed they weren't going to cross our line at any cost.
"The set pieces are never easy, a lot of it is mental as much as physical, but we managed to get our heads up and win clean ball for our backs. As a whole the pack is quite happy."
There was a spell when he was tried at hooker, considered being a bit small at prop, but strong in the tight and loose.
Jones wants to stick at prop, saying: "I'm predominantly a prop, though there is nothing wrong with learning the skills of a hooker."
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