Neil Jenkins: "If you want to be a Wales World Cup squad member, you’re going to have to play well on Saturday"
The Wales coaching group have handed a debut to Scarlets centre Joe Roberts and named Dewi Lake as captain
©PA
Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins has handed his squad an ultimatum ahead of their latest World Cup warm-up game with England when he said: "If you want to be a World Cup squad member, you’re going to have to play well on Saturday."
Head Coach Warren Gatland has named a much-changed 23 for their trip to Twickenham with an entirely new starting 15. Jenkins’ comments show how competitive the squad is at the moment, with Gatland also saying last week that only a handful of players can consider their place in the side as nailed on.
Last Saturday's comfortable 20-9 win over England in Cardiff made matters more complicated for Gatland - but in a good way - as some of the game’s standout players are not consistent starters for Wales, and looked unlikely to make the plane to France before the match.
However, both props in Corey Domachowski and Kieron Assiratti impressed on debut, whilst Sam Costelow also showed a promising attacking edge. Taine Plumtree was another player to receive their first cap and made a real nuisance of himself off the bench.
And Jenkins has made the message clear that this weekend’s second warm-up game against England is a chance for players to book themselves onto the World Cup plane.
He said: “There were some big performances last week so if you want to be a World Cup squad member, you’re going to have to play well on Saturday. You have to show that you can play at this level.
"You always want competition for places. The reality is there are some good players in this squad and everyone will have to fight for their positions whoever you are, whether you’ve got 100 caps or whether you’re uncapped."
Comparisons have been made this week with Wales’ pre-World Cup squad of 2011, with new faces being thrown into Test match rugby to replace the old guard.
Like in 2011, Gatland also looks set to name one of his young guns as captain. Back then, Sam Warburton was given the honour of leading his country in New Zealand while this current group were led out by Jac Morgan last week (the favourite for the armband at the World Cup) and will be skipped by Dewi Lake on Saturday.
"There’s been a big change, there’s no doubting that,” said Jenkins. "A couple of senior players have retired but I think it’s an opportunity for someone else and a lot of the guys who have come in have really put their hand up. I think Wales certainly has a bright future going forward."
The aforementioned Plumtree is one of those players who looks certain to be part of Wales' 'bright future'. The Swansea-born 23-year old has played his senior rugby for the Blues in New Zealand but his recent move to Scarlets made him eligible for Welsh selection, a choice Gatland wasted no time in making.
At six-foot-five and with the ability to play across the back-row as well as in the locks, Plumtree’s versatility could make him a valuable addition to Gatland’s squad.
“He’s been very good," Jenkins said on Plumtree. "A good guy and a good person to have around the squad. He played well when he came on last Saturday. He said himself that he was pretty nervous when he came in, but he’s certainly found his feet. He’s a good member of the squad on and off the pitch and made a really good impact for us."
With thoughts now turning to Saturday, prop Gareth Thomas will get his chance this weekend as he starts at loosehead.
He credits the gruelling pre-World Cup camps in Switzerland and Turkey for the fitness gains he and the squad have made over the last few months, with Gatland saying Wales' physical shape was the point of difference against England last week.
Thomas said: "I think I’m probably the fittest I’ve ever been. If I wasn’t it’d be quite worrying! I’m confident going into this week now and want to show more. More tackles, more carries and looking forward to putting that conditioning into the game."
On Saturday's team, Gatland added: "There’s an opportunity for another group of players who weren’t involved last week. There’s some great competition within the squad. I was pretty pleased with the team performance and the result last week – it wasn’t perfect but there’s a chance now for this group to go out Saturday and to put down their own marker.
"Like I said there’s some real competition and perhaps a bit of pressure on this group as well. Then we’ll look potentially what the make up of the team is the following week against South Africa."
Wales team to face England: L Williams; Adams, Roberts, Tompkins, Rogers; O Williams, T Williams; G Thomas, Lake (capt), Francis, Beard, R Davies, Lydiate, Reffell, Plumtree.
Replacements: Parry, Mathias, Lewis, Tshiunza, Basham, Hardy, Biggar, K Williams.
