Sam Warburton on standby for starting berth in Waless Six Nations opener • Lions captain has recovered from shoulder injury • Dan Lydiate may miss Italy match to attend birth Sam Warburton was named on Waless bench against Italy on Saturday after recovering from the shoulder injury he sustained at the end of the autumn Test series, but the Lions captain may start the champions opening match of their Six Nations title defence after Dan Lydiate returned to France on Tuesday when his fiancee went into labour. Warren Gatland said he would have no qualms about starting the flanker, despite his lack of match fitness, but the second-row Alun Wyn Jones, who was named captain in place of Warburton, will wear the armband if Lydiate fails to return to the squads training base by Friday. I have told Dan to take a few days off and we will be able to accommodate him even if he returns on Friday, Gatland said. We always stress to players the importance of family and I asked Dan if he wanted the weekend off, but he was adamant he wanted to get back and play. Sam is in good shape and would be ready to start at six. The head coach had almost a full squad to choose from. Jonathan Davies was unavailable to Gatland but the centre hopes to play for the Scarlets this weekend in an earlier than expected comeback after an arm injury, while the prop Gethin Jenkins was passed fit but was given the weekend off to avoid the risk of a recurrence of knee trouble that would rule him out of the rest of the tournament. Gatland has told his players to believe in themselves and play with confidence as they chase an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title. He has been bold in selection, preferring Rhys Priestland to Dan Biggar at fly-half, suggesting that Wales will look to widen their point of attack at times, ready for Daviess return, which may be in Dublin next week. It was the hardest team to pick for a while, Gatland said. We have gone with Rhys at 10 because he has been playing well for the Scarlets. It is tough on Dan, but he does not have quite the same power in the back line at Ospreys that Rhys has with his region and it has hamstrung him a little bit. The centre Jamie Roberts, who missed the autumn campaign through injury, revealed how Gatland had told the players that to cope with the pressure of being champions, and the expectation that comes with that, they must play like them from the first minute of the opening game. Warren has spoken about having a little bit of a strut in our stride and being quite confident, said Roberts. We need to be honest and humble as well, but we have to go out and express ourselves. We cant go into our shells on the pitch, we have to go out and walk the walk because ultimately thats served us well over the last few years; with the experience the majority of the squad has picked up over the last two or three seasons we have to expect to win. Theres always the worry after you have won two on the bounce that you go into your shell. Its important we go out and play with confidence and believe that we are champions. We know we are the team to beat and we have to adapt accordingly. That takes a lot of resilience, a lot of thinking and planning before games. Its important we do our homework and no stone will be left unturned going into the game against a tough Italy side. While Wales have been the form team in Europe in the past couple of years, an unknown factor going into the Six Nations is whether there will be a fallout in the long dispute between the Welsh Rugby Union and its four regions that has seen players caught in the crossfire: of the six in the Wales squad who are out of contract at the end of the season, Leigh Halfpenny is joining Toulon, Warburton has signed a central contract and Alun Wyn Jones is remaining at Ospreys. Priestland is among the three who are undecided. It has been stressing me out, he said, adding that his preference was to remain in Wales rather than join Wasps. It is hard to make an informed decision because I do not know all the facts and I have been getting agitated quite easily, which is not like me. I have spoken to the three who have sorted out their futures and they said a weight has been lifted from their shoulders. The sooner I am able to resolve things the better. Wales team v Italy Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Racing Métro), George North (Northampton); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Racing Métro); Paul James (Bath), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Perpignan), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, capt), Dan Lydiate (Racing Métro), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Toby Faletau (NG Dragons). Replacements Ken Owens (Scarlets), Ryan Bevington (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Andrew Coombs (NG Dragons), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), James Hook (Perpignan), Liam Williams (Scarlets)
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:05:06 +0000
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