Jenkins takes cautious approach over Jones

Wales head coach Gareth Jenkins will have to pick Ryan Jones for the World Cup on faith not form after confirming the injured number eight would not be available to play England on August 4.

Jones has undergone an operation on the same shoulder he had reconstructed in 2005 and will discover tomorrow what his chances are of making the World Cup.

The England game is the one and only opportunity Jenkins has to finalise his tournament squad, with the 30-man party to be named on August 14.

There are also concerns over the fitness of Gavin Henson, who has been struggling with an Achilles injury which has kept him out of training for the last three weeks.

But while Henson is expected to be fit to press his claims at Twickenham if required, Jones will not.

And Jenkins must decide whether the 2005 Lion can be ready to fire at the World Cup despite not having played any rugby in three months.

“The surgeon, Ryan and our medical department meet tomorrow and we will have a better idea of timescales then,” said Jenkins.

“You want a quality world-class player like Ryan fighting fit and ready to go. There was a concern he was having a niggle and so we took a precaution.

“It was a necessary procedure. They had to trim parts of the cartilage on his shoulder.

“We are right in what we have done because he has a big career in front of him and it was important that, if there was a problem, it was identified.

“England is the last chance to answer questions. After that England game we have to finalise the squad.

“Gavin Henson has had a difficult couple of weeks with an Achilles which has kept him off the training park. He is a frustrated young man at the moment because he has not been able to take part in the same training as the rest of the squad.

“But I feel everyone apart from Ryan will be available (for the England game).”

Jenkins declined to give any indication whether Jones would be considered for the World Cup squad even if he was not fit for the opening match, against Canada in Nantes on September 9.

It could be the cut-off point is Wales’ pivotal pool clash with Australia in Cardiff on September 15.

But it would be a huge ask for Jones to start his first game since May against Australia in one of the tournament’s biggest matches.

The rest of the Wales squad will be put through conditioning tests on Friday before heading to their World Cup base just outside Nantes for a week’s training camp.

With preparations restricted by the fact Wales have just one Test before the August 14 squad deadline – England have two – Jenkins had hoped to arrange a friendly fixture against club opposition in France for next week.

But even though Australia and New Zealand clash in Auckland this weekend in a Tri-Nations decider, tournament organisers refused Wales permission.

“There is no team in the northern hemisphere comfortable with the squads being announced on the 14th,” said Jenkins.

“I wanted to play a competitive game in the training camp but that wasn’t allowed because you can only play friendly matches in August.”

Speculation has been rife in Wales as to who will captain the side at the World Cup, with the two leading candidates being Stephen Jones, who was captain during the disappointing RBS 6 Nations campaign, and Gareth Thomas.

Jenkins reiterated his plan to name the skipper along with the remainder of the squad on August 14 while Jones declined to comment on the matter.

Gareth Thomas, who stood in to lead the under-strength squad in Australia earlier this summer, would not be drawn and insisted: “I will not say anything negative about Stephen. As players we all back each other.”

Wales today unveiled their new skin-tight World Cup jersey, which includes technology designed to neutralise potential “tackling points”, reduce the risk of muscle injury and support the body in contact.

The front five have a slightly looser-fitting design to assist with binding. The fans, thankfully, have their own jersey.

England were the first side to push for skin-tight shirts with no collar ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Sir Clive Woodward had the idea after his analysis of a Calcutta Cup match showed Jason Robinson might have scored a hat-trick had the Scotland defenders not been able to grab on to his jersey.

All top-level international shirts are now streamlined for that reason.

“One key request from us was that the shirt would be more difficult to grab hold of in a tackle,” said Jenkins.

Welsh Rugby Union chief executive added Roger Lewis added: “We wanted to make a considerable step forward in the science of the game. Every inch will count at the World Cup and we feel we are stealing that inch.”