Made a mistake: Alun-Wyn Jones
Wales lock Alun-Wyn Jones is set to avoid the humiliation of being dropped following his costly sin-binning at Twickenham.
The British & Irish Lion was slated by Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland after his team's 30-17 defeat against England.
England scored seventeen unanswered points, including two converted tries, during Jones' absence either side of half-time after he blatantly tripped Dylan Hartley.
But the indications are that Gatland will retain 36 times-capped Jones for next Saturday's next Six Nations appointment with Scotland in Cardiff.
Asked if he thought Jones would be left out of the Scotland clash, Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said on Monday: "I don't think so.
"We've all made mistakes, and Alun made one on the weekend. He is hurting as much as anyone.
"We've had other players in the past who have been sin-binned and we came through it unscathed. On Saturday, we didn't - we conceded some points.
"It is one of those things. I think we learn from it and we move on. We all know he is a fantastic rugby player.
"When you are playing these games you want your 15 players on the park at all times.
"Giving penalties away to people like (England fly-half) Jonny Wilkinson and most kickers in the world now, you are going to suffer and concede points."
Jones has yet to comment publicly about his moment of madness, yet he has found considerable support from his Wales team-mates.
"I know he will bounce back stronger," said wing Shane Williams.
"I think he has learnt his lesson, and there is no-one more gutted than Alun. I hope he is playing on Saturday."
And hooker Gareth Williams added: "He knows he made a mistake, but he knows he's got the full backing of the boys.
"He was devastated, but he has got to put that to bed now."
Gatland plans to name his line-up tomorrow, and changes in the front-five are likely, especially as prop Gethin Jenkins should be available for selection.
While the latest injury bulletin on his front-row colleague Matthew Rees, who was also sidelined against England, is not encouraging, Jenkins looks like making an immediate return from an untimely calf muscle problem.
"Gethin is doing well," said Wales team physiotherapist Mark Davies.
"We are progressing his training with a view to him taking a full part in Thursday's session.
"He desperately wants to take an earlier part than that, but we are trying to hold him back. The calf has been a little problem area for him, and we are mindful of that.
"At this moment in time, he's looking good."
Hooker Rees though, could struggle to play any part in Wales' Six Nations campaign due to recurrent groin trouble.
"Matthew was left with two options at the end of the autumn internationals," added Davies.
"Either to have it (groin) surgically repaired, which would have meant him missing the Six Nations, or to tread the non-surgical course, to rehabilitate and get himself in with a shout for the Six Nations.
"He did that, and he was doing ever so well, but he tweaked it again.
"We need, at some point by the end of the week, to reach a conclusion whether we are going to persevere down the same track or re-refer Matthew for a consultation regarding the best way to manage it."
Given Wales' acute lineout weakness against England, Gatland is certain to look at the hooking position, while lock Luke Charteris could come under threat from Ospreys pair Ian Gough and Jonathan Thomas.
And scrum-half should be another area for close scrutiny, given that Richie Rees offered far more of a threat than his Cardiff Blues colleague Gareth Cooper after his appearance as a 68th-minute substitute.
Either way, Wales expect a fierce challenge at the Millennium Stadium from a Scotland side beaten 18-9 at home by France yesterday.
"I thought it was a very physical game, and I felt Scotland's defence in general was pretty awesome, limiting France to two tries considering the amount of opportunities they (France) had," Jenkins said.
"It is going to be a very tough game for us on Saturday, we realise that.
"Beforehand, we thought we were more than capable of winning against England. The Grand Slam goes, the Triple Crown goes, but the championship is still alive.
"We need to get back on track quickly - we need to play well and win on Saturday."
Comments
malkhut10 says...
AWJ made a stupid mistake, and it happened to cost us points, but he shouldn't be dropped - when we won against Ireland in 08, we did so with 14 men for a quarter of the match, after both Martyn Williams and Mike Phillips were binned for equally stupid mistakes. No one talked about droppin them. If Wales had survuved on Saturday as they did in that Ireland match, AWJ's trip would be all but forgotten.
Posted 11:26 09th February 2010