A dramatic, last-grasp Shane Williams try condemned the Scots to a 31-24 defeat at the Millennium Stadium.

And Cusiter believes the defeat means victory in Rome in two weeks’ time is now a must.

He said: “We said in the changing room we don't want to feel like this again.

“To be as low as that is a horrible place to be but it can only spur us on to work harder and keep at it because we proved we're a very good team for a large part of that game.

“International rugby is all about winning and we've got to learn to do that. We're not far away and that's a real positive.

“Now we've got to go to Italy in two weeks and secure a victory.”

With a last-minute Stephen Jones penalty tying the scores at 24-24, Scotland did have the option to kick the ball out of play from the restart and avoid defeat.

But Scotland, who had 13 men in the bin and one player barely able to walk, opted to try and keep the ball alive and go for the win – with disastrous consequences.

But the Glasgow Warriors scrum-half has defended the decision that ultimately handed Wales victory.

He said: “Our mentality was to win the game. We were trying to stay positive and wanted the penalty that could have taken us back in front.

“We had been 10 points up with 10 minutes to go and felt as if we deserved to win.

“It's now easy to say that wasn't the right decision and there are stages we will reflect on and say we could have done better but I'd rather focus on the positives.”