Jones completes stunning comeback as Wales warm up for clash with Canada

WALES fly-half Stephen Jones last night declared himself fit to start the World Cup — just six weeks after fearing he would be ruled out of the tournament altogether.

Jones admitted it was “touch and go” whether he would need surgery on a hip flexor injury suffered during Wales’s pre-World Cup training camp in Brittany.

But on his return to the St Nazaire Rugby Club, Jones came through a full training session and confirmed he is fit to play in Sunday’s opening clash against Canada.

“I am ready to go now,” he said.

“When I had the injury out here I wasn’t sure what the state of play was. It was touch and go whether I needed an operation. If that was the case I would have missed the whole season.

“My body is fine, that is not a problem. I am itching to get back out there. It’s great. I have been back training for a while and I have enjoyed getting back on the pitch instead of just working in the gym. It is great to be back with the boys.”

Wales seem unlikely to throw Jones straight into the starting XV against Canada, given that he has not played since the first week of May.

But assistant coach Nigel Davies hailed his return to action as a major boost to Wales’s World Cup prospects.

“Stephen is 100% fit and ready now. Stephen is a quick healer and he is back a lot earlier than we thought,” said Davies.

“He is hugely positive, he has huge experience and he is a level-headed guy who can deal with pressure situations and he energises the camp.

“We have to look at the fact he has not played in a while and we will have to factor that in when we make our selection.

“We have a number of options there. He could start but we may decide to include him in the 22 and bring him on or we may decide it is too early.”

Jones enjoyed the opportunity to bury a few ghosts on his return to St Nazaire as Wales trained in front of around 2,000 local fans.

“It is nice to come back here. We had a superb welcome, they are great supporters and we are looking forward now to playing some good rugby,” said Jones, who spent two seasons with French Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne.

Davies led the training session with Gareth Jenkins and captain Gareth Thomas in Paris attending a seminar with the tournament referees.

Other than Thomas, Ian Evans was the only player not to take a full part.

“We hope Ian will be available for the Australia game but probably for the Japan game,” said Davies.

Wales were happy to give something to a community that has taken them to heart for this World Cup.

Flanker Martyn Williams revelled in the welcome, which began at the airport with a greeting from schoolchildren waving flags and dishing out red berets.

“We have a feeling the campaign has definitely started,” he said.