Ceri Jones has scored six tries in his last five matches, normally enough to last a prop a lifetime, and the Harlequins front-row was yesterday rewarded for his scoring feats by being called into Wales's preliminary Six Nations squad.
Jones, who has appeared for Wales A, joined Quins last season on loan from Newport before making the deal permanent. His coach Mark Evans expressed his surprise that he was not part of the Wales set-up after the prop scored the match-winning try at Newcastle last Sunday, nine minutes into stoppage-time.
"We have had our eye on Ceri for a while," said the Wales coach Steve Hansen, who named 47 players in his squad though one of them, the full-back Kevin Morgan who has suffered a number of injuries in recent years, broke a bone in his ankle in training yesterday and will miss the start of the championship.
"As we no longer have an A side, it is important that we involve players like Ceri who have put in the performances in our squad sessions," added Hansen, who also called up Gloucester's Wales Under-21 flanker James Merriman and the Neath-Swansea Ospreys' breakaway Richard Pugh. The World Cup captain Colin Charvis, who is playing in France with Tarbes, is set to carry on as captain.
"Just because a player is not in the squad does not mean that he has no chance of appearing in the Six Nations," said Hansen.
The England scrum-half Matt Dawson returns for Northampton against Borders on Saturday subject to a fitness test tomorrow. The former Scotland flanker Martin Leslie, dropped from Edinburgh's squad for financial reasons after the World Cup, is set to return to the squad next month with the captain Todd Blackadder taking a back seat to concentrate on his role as Scotland's assistant coach.
Wales squad: Backs: K Morgan (Celtic Warriors), B Davies (Llanelli Scarlets), R Williams (Cardiff Blues), Evans (Scarlets), Henson (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), M Jones (Scarlets), S Williams (Ospreys), C Morgan (Blues), Gareth Thomas (Warriors), Brew (Gwent Dragons), Shanklin (Blues), Luscombe (Dragons), Watkins (Scarlets), Robinson (Blues), Taylor (Scarlets), Parker (Warriors), Harris (Blues), S Jones (Scarlets), Sweeney (Warriors), Cooper (Warriors), Peel (Scarlets), Phillips (Scarlets), Powell (Blues).
Forwards: I Thomas (Scarlets), A Jones (Ospreys), C Jones (Harlequins), Jenkins (Warriors), Duncan Jones (Ospreys), Yapp (Blues), McBryde (Scarlets), M Davies (Warriors), Bennett (Ospreys), G Williams (Blues), R Sidoli (Warriors), Cockbain (Warriors), Llewellyn (Ospreys), P Sidoli (Dragons), Wyatt (Scarlets), Owen (Dragons), Dafydd Jones (Scarlets), J Thomas (Ospreys), Merriman (Gloucester), M Williams (Blues), Pugh (Ospreys), Popham (Leeds), Gavin Thomas (Ospreys), Charvis (Tarbes).
