Jenkins hooked by Welsh wizard

WALES head coach Gareth Jenkins has wasted no time in pencilling James Hook into his World Cup squad after the rookie fly-half made a starring home debut in Saturday’s thrilling draw with Australia.

Hook came on as a replacement for injured captain Stephen Jones with just 23 minutes gone and Wales trailing 17-6, having taken a fearful early hammering.

But the 21-year-old, in the face of immense pressure, showed remarkable poise and played a key role as Wales launched a courageous comeback.

He convinced Jenkins of his World Cup pedigree last summer on Wales’ development tour of South America – and on Saturday displayed it to the rest of the rugby world.

Jenkins said: “I had the opportunity in Argentina to take young guns who had big potential. In that environment we saw three or four who will come through to become World Cup players.

“And we saw an example of that progression yesterday with James Hook and (lock) Ian Evans.

“James had a great game. He is a young man and is very talented but what he showed against Australia was the type of composure, self-belief and confidence you need to play on the international stage.

“He will have excited every rugby supporter in Wales with that performance.”

Hook was winning only his third cap but performed like a seasoned international. His goal kicking was faultless and yielded 13 vital points, his distribution was slick and his tactical game on the money.

It was an emotional occasion for Jenkins, who was leading Wales on home soil for the first time since replacing Mike Ruddock.

“I did have a quiver on my lip when the anthem finished – the atmosphere was something for us all to be proud of – but other than that I dealt with it pretty well,” said Jenkins.

There was very little time to be dewy eyed. Australia started like a train and barely relinquished possession for 20 minutes as they stormed into a 17-6 lead with tries from Cameron Shepherd and Matt Giteau.

Just about Hook’s first act was to launch a 50-yard touch-finder which moved Wales deep into Australian territory for the first time and turned the tide.

In a throwback to the seminal victory over France in Paris during the 2005 Grand Slam season, Wales scored 20 unanswered points with tries from Shane Williams and Martyn Williams.

The draw was another blow to an Australian squad who had targeted a clean sweep of seven wins from seven on their European tour and the fact they have also lost lock Dan Vickerman to a shoulder injury is going to make their European jaunt all the more difficult.

Vickerman played all 80 minutes against Wales, but it was discovered later that he had injured his shoulder and will need reconstruction surgery.

Try scorer Cameron Shepherd said of the match: “We are rebuilding with a new coaching staff and things like that but it’s time we stand up and take responsibility for our own actions.

We had all the run of play in the first 20 minutes. But we made a series of mistakes leading into half time and after it, which put the Welsh back in the game.

“You can’t do that in international football because sides make you pay these days.

“It wasn’t a loss so hopefully next week we can produce it on the paddock and get a win against the Italians.”