After the 24-22 win over Australia there's a sense of relief and also pleasure for the guys who - rightly or wrongly - have taken a lot of stick this autumn.
 |  We did what a lot of other Welsh teams haven't done and beat a Tri Nations side |
There were a lot of factors behind the way we played against the Wallabies. It was our fitness coach Andrew Hore's last game before he returned to New Zealand, but also our last chance to salvage the campaign.
People expected a lot more after our performances in the Six Nations, but against New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji we didn't deliver.
The pressure of knowing that if we didn't beat Australia then the campaign would be written off completely really spurred us on.
I was always confident that things would click as we got better the longer we spent together as a squad.
Whether it would click in time for us was another matter, but right from the kick-off you could feel it was there.
The confidence was oozing, although I guess you can only really sense that if you're out on the field.
We threw everything at Australia in the first half, but didn't have the points to reflect our dominance.
That sort of thing can break you on a rugby pitch, but it shows the mettle in this team that they stuck to their guns and delivered.
It turned into one of those games you love playing in as much as people love to watch.
| It's England at Twickenham first up, a truly massive game - and we'll be hitting the ground running |
There were no regrets at the end because people tried to do everything they wanted - some of them came off, some didn't - but Shane Williams' try sums up the way we want to play the game. Obviously we still have to be realistic as the previous games against South Africa and New Zealand were disappointing.
But Australia was a big step forward, we did what a lot of other Welsh teams haven't done and beat a Tri Nations side.
There are a lot of critics and a lot of rugby legends who haven't done that and we have to be proud of what we've achieved.
It will also get our confidence on a roll ahead of the Six Nations, although we won't be over-confident as we remember the defeats.
We know we can't start our Grand Slam defence rusty like we did in the autumn and we'll work to make sure that we don't.
It's England at Twickenham first up, a truly massive game - and we'll be hitting the ground running.
I have to say a few words about Andrew Hore, he's a guy you just can't replace. His contribution has been miles ahead of what any other fitness coach has ever done in this country.
Although we will miss him, he has put systems in place that bode well for us and for all the future generations coming through at every level of the game in Wales.
MMIX
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