Internationals - Wales name Ospreys prop James

Reuters - Mon, 02 Nov 14:20:00 2009

Ospreys prop Paul James will win his second Wales cap, six years after his international debut, when he plays against New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Paul James - Ospreys - 0

James (pictured) will fill the problem tight-head position while club mate James Hook will play at fullback, another position affected by injury.

Regular full-back Lee Byrne and number three Adam Jones are both injured.

James, who can play on both sides of the scrum, made his international debut against Romania in 2003 and packs down at tight-head alongside Scarlets and Lions hooker Matthew Rees and Blues and Lions stalwart Gethin Jenkins at loose-head.

Fellow Ospreys Duncan Jones and Huw Bennett provide the cover from the bench.

"We wanted Gethin Jenkins to start so it was a case of seeing which of the other three props (Jones, James and Osprey Craig Mitchell) stood out in training this week," said coach Warren Gatland.

"Paul has edged it and we know he won't let us down, he may have just had the one cap but he has been around this Wales squad since making the tour to North America in the summer and at 27 years old has had plenty of experience and should be coming into his prime as a front row forward.

"Elsewhere the coaches have looked for consistency of selection, we have asked James to play at fullback before and it is a boost for any side to be able to have someone of his calibre on the field in whatever position that may be.

"We have an experienced pairing at centre, two exciting wingers and the Lions playmaker running the back line at fly-half, so we think we have a pretty good side out there.

"New Zealand will be looking to get the European part of their tour off to a winning start and were pretty slick in their demolition of Australia at the weekend. We are looking forward to facing them at the Millennium Stadium again and are expecting an exciting game."

Scarlets wing Mark Jones has been ruled out of the rest of the autumn internationals with a knee injury he picked up on Sunday. He is waiting to see a consultant but is likely to require keyhole surgery.

Wales: 15-James Hook, 14-Leigh Halfpenny, 13-Tom Shanklin, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-Shane Williams, 10-Stephen Jones, 9-Gareth Cooper; 1-Gethin Jenkins, 2-Matthew Rees, 3-Paul James, 4-Alun-Wyn Jones, 5-Luke Charteris, 6-Andy Powell, 7-Martyn Williams, 8-Ryan Jones (capt) Replacements: 16-Huw Bennett, 17-Duncan Jones, 18-Bradley Davies, 19-Dafydd Jones, 20-Martin Roberts, 21-Jonathan Davies, 22-Tom James.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 5 of 5

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  1. I thought Tom James may have been given the nod over­ halfpenny as hes been playing well and has the size for­ defending. At may all hinge on the scrum. Come on­ Wales

    From Graham H, on Tue 3 Nov 9:07AM

  2. Wales know exactly what they are in for derek.. ive­ watched very single all-black performance of the last 5­ years, they never have a bad side, they always have a­ GOOD side. Wales are the enigma in rugby, they turn up­ and play brilliant rugby one game, sulk and kick it­ away the next game. we've worked on tryin to be­ more consistent and its workin to some extent. but­ we've lost one of the best scrum-halves and on of­ the best fullbacks in world rugby to injury as well as­ Adam Jones who is lookin to be irreplaceable. however,­ the best prop in the world (Gethin Jenkins) and one of­ the most lethal 12/13 combos are still avaliable, as­ well as the jewel that is Shane Williams. the all­ blacks are consistnet across the board, whilst the­ welsh are exceptional in areas and denuded in others.­ the game will probably settle whether it is best to­ field a well balanced side, or an uneven side, filled­ with world class talent.
    if wales turn up they can win,­ no doubt. and they will have to turn up for 85 minutes­ , not just 60 a la last year.
    whats the point in­ predictions? 65-65 draw, its just as likely as any­ other result in my view haha

    From moggie2727, on Mon 2 Nov 10:48PM

  3. i dont think it matters who wales pick for this­ weekends game they will be beaten and convincingly, n.z­ have a strong formidable team and depth through every­ position, the way they played against australia just­ showed the true class of what they can do, northern­ hemisphere rugby is about 1 or 2 years behind our­ southern compatriots wales cant expect to just go out­ an blow them away as they have had lack of game time­ together, n.z loses 1 goo winger an replace him with an­ even more exciting an dynamic player and they also lose­ the best loose head in world rugby and yet can­ instantly be replaced with some one just as solid and­ hard hitting as tony woocock wales dont know what they­ are in for

    From derekharrison1983, on Mon 2 Nov 10:19PM

  4. tight game coming.gatland has picked the strongest team­ availble.pity about peel but that was his choice to­ move.he will be back playing in wales sooner rather­ than later.i feel more confident about wales chances­ than my english freinds feel about their team.johnson­ has alot of injuries but he will still pick old­ mates.he has no coaching experience and cant cope when­ it goes wrong

    From skinnyhoskins, on Mon 2 Nov 7:57PM

  5. like to see Jonathan Davies have go but a well balance­ side

    From alan, on Mon 2 Nov 5:08PM
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