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Paul O'Connell: We only have ourselves to blame

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell refuses to blame the officials for his side's late loss to Wales.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell has refused to blame the officials for his side's 23-21 Six Nations home defeat to Wales.

Ireland had looked on course for victory, before a controversial Leigh Halfpenny penalty turned the game in the 80th minute.

O'Connell believes he and his teammates can only have themselves to blame for the result, which has ended hopes of an Irish Triple Crown.

He said: "We put ourselves in a position to win the game, and we conceded eight points in the last five minutes.

"We also conceded a lot of momentum in the first half and gave them a lot of belief. We struggled to get into the game in the first half, and you can't give a team that length of time with ball in hand.

"Defensively, we will have some work to do. We conceded a lot of ground and yardage at times, but when we attacked, we played with intensity."

O'Connell made his Ireland debut against Wales in the 2002 Six Nations.

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