Wales centre Jamie Roberts admits he is taking inspiration from former United States of America President Theodore Roosevelt as he bids to get his hands back on the RBS 6 Nations title.
Roberts and co head to Twickenham this weekend to take on England sitting behind their hosts in second in the table.
After an opening draw with Ireland, Wales have seen off the challenge of Scotland and France, with the 19-10 victory over the latter built on a solid defensive display.
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And while this defence-first approach might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Roberts – who saw Rhys Webb join the Wales squad this week – revealed a speech made by Roosevelt is propelling him onwards and upwards.
Roberts wrote in his column for the Independent: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
“The credit is with the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.
“And so goes on the quote by Theodore Roosevelt. It’s one I turn to when the team I’m in is getting criticised or me personally. I did so again this week, and it helps me to laugh things off.
“Sam Warburton said after the France game that he thought people might start doing a Mexican wave because fans were finding it a bit dull.
“I’d hold my hands up and say it probably was quite boring at times with it being defence, defence, defence, and particularly with the fact that there were two scoring chances that we left begging.
“But as defensive captain of the side I take immense pride in the way the players put their bodies on the line for 80 minutes, tried to make every tackle and hit every ruck as though their careers depended on it.
“There was just so much energy and enthusiasm that went into that. The driving point for that is the desire to win and that’s the ultimate goal. Of course, we’d like people to be more encouraging but at the same time we know there will always be critics.
“We’ve beaten France five times in a row and I don’t think that’s happened since the 1950s. On top of that, we’ve only conceded two tries in those five games.”
Click here for the complete 2016 RBS 6 Nations fixture list with TV coverage
