Scotland suffered a crushing defeat by Wales at Murrayfield

By Richie Gray The Scotland lock looks ahead to the Six Nations encounter with Ireland

When I watched them warm up... that was hard to take.

My vantage point for the game at Murrayfield was the sofa. Just one week earlier I had been playing for Scotland at the Stade de France in Paris.

On the Thursday after that game I woke up in the morning and knew something was wrong. I won't go into the gory details but I had two days to go before our second game in the Six Nations championship and I was in danger of not making kick off.

I tried to stay positive.

There's a difference between illness and injury. If you're injured you know there's no coming back, but when you're ill you always hope that you have a chance.

In the end I had to make an honesty call. I felt terrible and hadn't eaten; I was nowhere near the pace.

I was given every possible chance to make the game, but in the end I missed out.

The game was a tough watch. I was willing the guys to do well but when things didn't pan out right, I was powerless to do anything about it.

On Tuesday last week I managed to train.

we gave the ball up to Wales, but if we take care of the ball we can take care of the game Richie Gray

It was clear from talking to the guys that they were still hurting, and that they wanted to move on.

I didn't ask too much about the game. We're a very honest bunch and an extremely passionate side.

In a sense the setback has brought us all closer together. We need to address the problems and; work on our technical aspects.

We need to fight for every inch of the pitch.

We all came back together on the evening of Sunday 20 February. Monday morning was all about weights then the forwards met to discuss technical aspects of the game.

The afternoon saw everyone in a circle. Everything was on the agenda and we took the opportunity to get things off our chests.

Believe me there is a positive to take from that defeat to Wales.

We, Scotland, have our destiny in our hands - we gave the ball up to Wales, but if we take care of the ball we can take care of the game.

Monday night: dinner at the hotel. Watched Glee on the TV. I'm a Gleek (don't ask).

Two great covers on the show are Poison and Teenage Dream. I will admit to also enjoying the Britney Spears special.

Tuesday morning: morning skill session then in the afternoon attack and defence session.

It's going to be a tough game against Ireland; all of us realise that we need to start well and keep playing for 80 minutes.

Let's hope that glee is the over-riding emotion come full-time Sunday.

Richie Gray was talking to BBC Scotland's Jim Mason. He will be contributing diary pieces throughout the Six Nations.

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