Wales scrum-half Rees hoping to keep Lions pair at bay

RICHIE REES could have been excused a double-take as he prepared to embark on the biggest week of his rugby life.

Despite being strongly backed to make a first Wales start against Six Nations opponents France on Friday night, Rees knew he could take nothing for granted until coach Warren Gatland’s team announcement.

And then, just when his waiting game threatened to become unbearable, in walked probably the last two people on the planet he wanted to see – Lions scrum-halves Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel.

“I didn’t know either of them were coming,” said Rees, following the pair’s weekend call-ups.

“When they both walked into the hotel, I thought, ‘here we go!’

“It’s nice to have them back but I just try to concentrate on my own game. If I was selected, I was selected – if not, it wasn’t to be. We will see how Friday goes and then take it from there.”

It says everything about the Cardiff Blues number nine’s current form that he won Gatland’s vote above two players with 110 caps and two Lions tours between them. Although Phillips and Peel have endured injury-hit seasons and were not named in Gatland’s initial Six Nations squad, they are both now fit, available and training. But 26-year-old Rees showed more than enough during substitute stints against England and Scotland to make an irresistible case for a full Wales debut.

And Gatland duly obliged, handing him a starting shirt for Les Bleus’ Cardiff visit, with Phillips on replacement duty and Peel currently surplus to match-day requirements.

“I thought I did what I could (against England and Scotland),” added Rees.

“I stuck to the gameplan and things worked out all right. The coaches were pretty pleased with what I offered and now I’ve got a start on Friday, which is obviously what you want.”

Rees, though, has his hands full on Friday, not only trying to halt France’s Six Nations title and Grand Slam march, but also keeping their scrum-half maestro Morgan Parra quiet.

Parra, five years Rees’ junior, delivered majestic displays during victories over Scotland and Ireland, kicking 23 points and frequently tormenting the opposition through his full array of scrum-half skills.

Meanwhile Chris Cusiter yesterday insisted every Scotland player who made mistakes in the incredible Six Nations defeat by Wales had taken their share of the blame – including himself.

Replacement hooker Scott Lawson took much of the flak for the last-gasp loss after his sin-binning started a chain reaction that saw the visitors throw away what had appeared a certain victory.

The Gloucester player has reportedly phoned the management staff and his team-mates since the match 10 days ago to apologise for his costly lack of discipline. And captain Cusiter revealed Lawson was not the only one to admit to letting the side down.

“I don’t think anyone shirks that responsibility,” the scrum-half said.

“The guys who made mistakes know who they are.

“A lot of us made mistakes – I’ll hold my hand up as well.

“We’ve got to learn from it and not make those mistakes again.”

The sheer madness of the final 10 minutes in Cardiff made it difficult at the time to dissect all that went wrong, as Wales scored 17 unanswered points to register a 31-24 triumph.

But key moments have been replayed enough times since for a thorough post-mortem to be conducted.

Italy coach Nick Mallett has named lock Carlo Antonio Del Fava in his 24-man squad.

Del Fava missed the 17-12 defeat against England after undergoing surgery on an injury to his right knee which looked set to sideline him for four weeks.

But the Viadana forward now looks set to be included in Mallett’s matchday squad when the Azzurri go in search of their first Six Nations win since their 23-20 victory in this fixture two years ago.

Scrum-half Simon Picone is not fit enough to return from a muscle strain so Pablo Canavosio retains his place.

Italy squad: Forwards: M Aguero (Saracens), Ma Bergamasco (Stade Francais), M Bortolami (Gloucester), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), C Antonio Del Fava (Viadana), P Derbyshire (Petrarca Padova), L Ghiraldini (Treviso), L Cittadini (Treviso), Q Geldenhuys (Viadana), F Ongaro (Saracens), S Perugini (Bayonne), J Sole (Viadana), A Zanni (Treviso).

Backs: M Bergamasco (Stade Francais), R Bocchino (Rovigo), G Canale (Clermont), P Canavosio (Viadana), A Masi (Racing Metro Paris), L McLean (Treviso), G Garcia (Treviso), C Gower (Bayonne), K Robertson (Viadana), A Sgarbi (Treviso), T Tebaldi (Gran Parma).