Wales captain Hannah Jones has urged fans to “stick with us” after their disappointing defeat to Ireland.

Jones has written an open letter to supporters explaining some of the comments she made post-match.

“I said that Ireland showed more ‘heart and want’ than us, but some people took that as me saying Wales didn’t want to win, which I didn’t mean,” she wrote.

“It’s not possible for anyone to want to win more than us, and our ambition every week is to come away with a win.

“Our hearts are absolutely in our performance, and that’s why I was so affected by the loss after the match.

“I also said that we didn’t turn up, and that we were not converting the opportunities we had in Ireland’s 22 into points on the board.

“I didn’t mean to put the blame on any individual there. It was an honest reflection about what we all, including myself and the coaches, could be doing better.

“Simply put, that wasn’t us on Saturday.”

Jones was clearly disappointed in the news conference and said her responses came after being “physically and emotionally exhausted after giving it my all for 80 minutes”.

“People have questioned whether our hearts were in the game. Of course they were, and my disappointment was because we didn’t match what Ireland brought to the Test,” Jones said in an article on the Contested App.

She also said the loss was “right up there” as one of the toughest of her rugby career, but her job as captain was to “pull the team together” and build confidence before their fourth round match against France on Sunday.

“We have a ‘nothing to lose, everything to gain’ mentality heading into this match, and I promise you we will put all our effort into showing you what we can do,” Jones added.

“All I ask is that you stick with us through the highs and the lows.

“Your support means the world to us. I know there are fans who are disappointed right now, but I hope you continue to support us as we try to turn the tide now.”