Wales ‘champing at the bit’

WALES full-back Lee Byrne begs to differ with the bookmakers who have installed England as favourites for Friday night’s RBS 6 Nations opener in Cardiff.

England will arrive at the Millennium Stadium looking for their first win on Welsh soil since they were crowned 2003 world champions. And Byrne is determined to prolong that sequence, even though Wales’ recent form hardly gives great cause for optimism.

Byrne and company head into the Six Nations showdown having gone seven Tests without a victory, losing three times against New Zealand, twice against South Africa, once to Australia and scraping a draw with Fiji.

“No, not at all,” said Byrne, when asked if England’s favourites tag was justified. “We are equally as good a team, if not better.

“Whoever takes their chances and makes the least mistakes will win, it’s as simple as that. Friday night at the Millennium Stadium, it doesn’t get much bigger than this and the boys are champing at the bit now to get it on.

“The first game is always the important one to win to get the momentum going. In 2008, we won at Twickenham, which gave us confidence going into all our other Six Nations games that year. And we need to start winning these games – going close is not good enough any more. We are on a bit of a losing run at the moment, especially at home, so we want to change that on Friday.”

Away from the Test arena, Byrne’s playing future is likely to be settled later this week, with French champions Clermont Auvergne his probable destination next term.

In the meantime, he has enough to contemplate waiting for Wales coach Warren Gatland’s team selection, with Byrne’s Ospreys colleague James Hook also a serious contender to wear the number 15 shirt.

Byrne added: “It’s a small squad, and everyone who is in the squad is fighting for a place. The intensity has gone up in training a few notches – it’s great.

“This first game is the key one, and England will be saying the same thing. We don’t want them to come down here and get a victory. It will come down to small margins, as it usually does at international level. Small things make the most difference in a game like this one.”

Gatland is due to name his starting line-up tomorrow, when recalls are expected for fit-again Lions backs Leigh Halfpenny and Jamie Roberts, with Ospreys props Paul James and Craig Mitchell also starting.

Wales have lost Lions props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones through injury, although the casualty count takes on an even keel given that England are minus Lewis Moody, Tom Croft and Courtney Lawes.

Gatland is believed to favour a midfield partnership of Roberts and in-form Scarlets prospect Jonathan Davies, which could contribute towards Hook being on replacement duty.

Hook, effective in the centre, at full-back or fly-half, looks set to miss out on a starting role if Gatland goes with Byrne and Scarlets number 10 Stephen Jones, plus a Roberts/Davies midfield combination.

Hook would have some impressive company on the bench though, with Lions Ryan Jones and Dwayne Peel set for support roles, as could Wales’ autumn starting number eight Jonathan Thomas.