Wales must find form to trouble top sides

28/08/2007 10:43

By Matt Lloyd

CARDIFF (Reuters) - Wales head into the World Cup struggling to regain the form that made them Six Nations winners two years ago.

Injuries and a dramatic loss of form have denied Wales half the team that swaggered to Grand Slam glory in 2005 and have left coach Gareth Jenkins facing mounting criticism after some inept displays.

Such discord is merely par for the course in Wales when the game’s biggest competition is round the corner.

In 1995, Jenkins was part of the management team forced to stand down just 60 days before the World Cup in South Africa following a second Six Nations wooden spoon. Wales failed to recover from the upheaval and went out in the pool stages.

It was horribly reminiscent of the previous tournament that was also marred by Ron Waldron’s decision to quit on health grounds after a disastrous summer tour to Australia.

That set the precedent as Graham Henry had less than a year to prepare for the 1999 World Cup and successor Steve Hansen was one defeat away from the sack in the summer of 2003.

Only in 1987, for the inaugural World Cup, did Wales enjoy a period of stability and they went on to finish third, their best performance to date.

Just like champions New Zealand that year, Wales have waited two decades to emulate that achievement.

Jenkins, slated after .....continued below

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Wales were thrashed 62-5 by England earlier this month, has been given a vote of confidence but he needs his undoubtedly talented squad to pull something out of the hat.

"We know we are better than some of the performances this year but it’s about showing that at the World Cup," Jenkins said.

"Despite the headlines, this is a very tight group who are behind each other 100 percent. That togetherness is not out of adversity, it’s despite it."

With Gavin Henson out and the squad’s leading points scorer Stephen Jones unavailable for the opening game against Canada on September 9, much will rest upon rising star James Hook.

The 22-year-old flyhalf took the game by storm in his debut season, winning the Magners League with the Ospreys and almost single-handedly saving Wales from the wooden spoon with 22 points against England, equalling the feat of his mentor Neil Jenkins.

Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins, the world record Test points scorer, said: "James is such a natural talent and has made amazing progress over the past two years.

"He’s been compared to many of the great Welsh number tens but he has a physical edge that those players never had. He has a mature head to handle the pressure."

Hook, who can also operate at centre, can shine in a back-line sizzling with talent such as Shane Williams, Kevin Morgan and Dwayne Peel along with the defensive solidity provided by Tom Shanklin and Gareth Thomas, in his fourth World Cup.

However the problem for Wales has never been how to use the ball, but how to get it.

Despite the loss of Ryan Jones, Wales have options in the back-row with Lions trio Colin Charvis, Martyn Williams and Michael Owen.

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