AFTER producing, by his own admission, an X-rated performance against Australia, Jamie Roberts intends to produce a squeaky clean display in midfield for Wales this afternoon.

The 30-year-old Harlequins centre was dropped for last weekend's win against Argentina after having a defensive shocker in the 32-8 loss to the Wallabies.

Roberts has been a mainstay of the national side since his 2008 debut and had started 82 of 84 caps but had to watch on as an unused replacement against the Pumas, the tight nature of the game meaning Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies played the full 80.

The Lions centre gave short shrift to the idea of today's Test being a shot at redemption – "I just want to prove to myself that it was an anomaly" – but knows he has to up his game to keep the 12 jersey for the autumn finale against South Africa.

"I could think of a few four-letter expletives to describe how I played against Australia. It was disappointing," said Roberts, who said he had an inkling he would be dropped when walking off the pitch after the Wallabies game.

"The hardest thing was probably trying to find a reason why, but it was nothing more and nothing less than a bad day at the office.

"I pride myself on consistency of performance, especially defensively, but it was a disappointing day personally and for the side. I certainly didn't deserve to play last weekend.

"Having spoken to Rob after the Australia game, I fully respected his decision. It's the nature of what we do, it's a competitive squad here and we know if we don't perform, you don't deserve to keep the jersey."

"It's given me a new perspective, it's given me a desire and hunger, given me a kick up the backside, which I hope, when I look back on this season, that I needed," he continued.

As defensive captain, Roberts will have to think fast against the elusive Brave Blossoms, who thrive when the game is unstructured.

"They're a team that likes to play at pace. Having seen them, they play at a tempo, there's a lot of pace in the side," said the centre.

"It's important we don't give them broken-field situations, when we kick the ball or turn the ball over. That's when they're at their most dangerous."