Wales may be staring at their second Six Nations whitewash in four years, but their coach, Gareth Jenkins, yesterday resisted the temptation to use selection as a means of inducing a response from his players by sticking with the team which lost to Italy in Rome last weekend for Saturday's visit of England to the Millennium Stadium.
Grand slam winners two years ago, Wales have not won any of their last seven championship matches, and have not beaten a team ranked in the world top 10 in their last 11 internationals. Jenkins has come under pressure because of the poor sequence of results, but 2005 was an exception in an otherwise dismal decade, with Wales winning only eight of their 19 Six Nations matches at home, all bar two coming against Scotland and Italy.
Stephen Jones retains the fly-half jersey and the captaincy after being passed fit following a blow to the face against Italy from Mauro Bergamasco, who was last night given a four-week ban which rules him out of Saturday's game against Ireland and Stade Francais' Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leicester on April 1.
The clamour for Colin Charvis to return to the back row at the expense of Ryan Jones was ignored, even though Jenkins said at the start of the season that form would be the key to selection.
"We were never going to fall into the trap of making changes for changes' sake," said Jenkins. "You cannot afford to be emotional, and after analysing the Italy game, it was clear that we have the right players in the right positions. The forwards showed up well in Italy and deserve another chance while Stephen was always going to play if he was fit. He is an inspirational character who will lift the players and the team needs its leader in the coming days."
Some former Wales internationals had demanded the dropping of Stephen Jones so that James Hook could move from inside-centre to outside-half, mindful of how the youthful Toby Flood and Shane Geraghty played at stand-off for England against France last Sunday. Phil Bennett, a former club-mate of Jenkins's at Llanelli, was among them, arguing that Jones looked "bruised, battered and bewildered in Italy".
Jenkins retorted by saying that Jones's value to the squad may not be as easily discernible from the outside as it is from the inside, and the indications are that Wales are bunkering themselves in, as they did in 1989 when they faced the prospect of a then unprecedented Five Nations whitewash only to pull off a defiant victory over England in Cardiff.
Ireland have made one change for Saturday's trip to Rome, with Mick O'Driscoll replacing the injured second-row Paul O'Connell. Brian O'Driscoll has recovered from a shoulder injury and Ronan O'Gara will play despite losing consciousness at the end of the win against Scotland.
France have dropped the No8 Sébastien Chabal and the scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili for Saturday's visit of Scotland.
Bristol's prop Jason Hobson has received a three-week ban for the punch that ended the Six Nations campaign of the England captain, Wasps' Phil Vickery.
Ireland Dempsey; Horgan (both Leinster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), D'Arcy, Hickie (both Leinster); O'Gara, Stringer; Horan (all Munster) or S Best, R Best (both Ulster), Hayes, O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll (all Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets), D Wallace, Leamy (both Munster). Replacements Flannery (Munster), S Best or Young, N Best (all Ulster), Hogan (Leinster), Reddan (Wasps), P Wallace, Trimble (both Ulster).
