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Wales coach Rob Howley has called for a bigger impact from his replacements ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.
Howley came in for fierce criticism over his changes during the 21-16 defeat to England last time out, with Ross Moriarty’s withdrawal after less than an hour proving most puzzling.
The interim boss blamed Wales’ short turnaround following the victory over Italy for his need to make those changes, but says he was disappointed with how his substitutions affected the game.
“We’ve spoken this week, we were disappointed with our bench against England and it’s an area we’ve talked about,” he told a news conference. “We’re looking for better impact this weekend.
“From a coaching perspective, you’ve got to keep in mind we’ve come off a six-day turnaround. We asked players to empty the tank.
“When you make changes, you ask for impact. We felt that Eddie Jones had emptied their bench to a certain extent and we needed fresh legs on.
“The six-day turnaround has an influence on players, we felt we were making the right decisions. Players coming off the bench have to make a better impact than they did against England.”
Moriarty was replaced by Taulupe Faletau against England in Cardiff but Howley insists he never considered shifting the Gloucester back-rower – who will start at number eight again in Edinburgh – to the flanks in a bid to accommodate both players.
“We only thought of him at number eight,” said Howley. “His work rate, his skill… he’s emptied the tank for us against England.
“To go back to Gloucester as he’s done, he’s played for them and had two six-day turnarounds. He’s fronted up and we hugely respect that. He’s well rested and looking forward to another challenge.”
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