Jones in line for Wales return

Mark Jones will make a remarkable return to international rugby against England on Saturday more than two years after last pulling on a Wales jersey.

The Llanelli winger, 26, has not played for Wales since the 2003 World Cup quarter-final defeat to England and has had to battle through two career-saving knee operations.

Jones’ return, in place of Dafydd James, is a rare good news story for head coach Mike Ruddock, who has had to plan the start of Wales’ Grand Slam defence without eight key players.

Brent Cockbain, Ryan Jones, Kevin Morgan, Tom Shanklin and Chris Horsman are all injured, Gavin Henson and Ian Evans are suspended while Sonny Parker announced his retirement earlier this month.

But Ruddock has challenged his men to meet England head on at Twickenham and stay true to the attacking philosophy that earned them such success last year.

“We know it’s going to be ferocious out there, they will be running straight lines at us and the biggest battle will be for parity up front in the scrums and lineouts,” said Ruddock.

“Our players are up for the challenge, excited about the prospect of playing England at Twickenham and liberated by the knowledge that if they play the way we know they can then we have a chance to frighten the opposition.”

Ruddock has made four personnel changes from the side which beat Australia in November.

Horsman’s long-term ankle problem opens the way for Ospreys loose-head prop Adam Jones to reclaim his place in the front row, while Hal Luscombe returns from injury to replace Parker and starts alongside Matthew Watkins in the centre.

Jones comes onto the wing and, in another major boost for Ruddock, Lions scrum-half Dwayne Peel returns to the side after missing the autumn internationals through injury.

“The issues we have with injuries and suspensions are well documented, but we have been able to establish some stability in the pack and we have picked some new faces in a backline that we are confident will be able to make a statement in the competition,” said Ruddock.

“You could argue that the centre partnership is not unlike the one formed by Tom Shanklin and Gavin Henson which faired so well last season.

“Hal is a similar player to Tom in terms of his physicality and ability to run some exceptional angles and Matthew is more than capable of producing magic of his own.”

Gethin Jenkins, the Lions prop and one of the stars of Wales’ Grand Slam campaign, returns to the international arena after missing the autumn Tests with a shoulder injury and starts on the bench.

Bath number eight Gareth Delve has also been named among the replacements and Alix Popham received late confirmation of his involvement after Dafydd Jones was handed a three-week ban for stamping.

“Alix Popham comes onto the bench on the back of playing some of the best rugby of his career for the Scarlets and, although Dafydd has been a front line player for us for some time, Alix’s inclusion is a positive step for the team,” insisted Ruddock.

Wales team to play England at Twickenham on Saturday:

G Thomas (capt, Toulouse); M Jones (Llanelli); H Luscombe (Newport Gwent), M Watkins (Llanelli), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Clermont-Auvergne), D Peel (Llanelli); D Jones (Ospreys), R Thomas (Cardiff), A Jones (Ospreys), I Gough (Newport Gwent), R Sidoli (Cardiff), C Charvis (Newcastle), M Williams (Cardiff), M Owen (Newport Gwent).

Replacements: M Davies (Gloucester), G Jenkins (Cardiff), G Delve (Bath), A Popham (Llanelli), G Cooper (Newport Gwent), C Sweeney (Newport Gwent), L Byrne (Llanelli).