? Fly-half and centre recover from injuries
? Roberts says Wales need to play 'near-perfect game'
Whether the cure turns out to be permanent or more of the sticking plaster variety, Wales moved two of their World Cup stars out of the sick bay on Friday and into the team to begin the Six Nations in Dublin on Sunday. After appearing to be struggling with knee injuries Jamie Roberts and Rhys Priestland have been pronounced fit to start against Ireland, though the flanker Dan Lydiate has not recovered from his ankle injury in time to join them.
With the first choice second-row pairing and three front-rows already unavailable, Lydiate's loss ? and there is no guarantee that he will be fit for Scotland next week ? is a considerable blow. He was a particular hero of the quarter-final victory in Wellington three months ago, which put Ireland out of the World Cup. In the overall pattern of the Welsh performance in New Zealand, however, the relationship between Priestland and Roberts was probably more important.
Warren Gatland, the head coach, attempted on Friday to downplay its particular significance, saying Wales had a considerable reservoir of midfield resources, especially with James Hook playing regularly at fly-half with Perpignan, but it was Priestland's arrival on the Test scene which added an important piece to the Welsh attack.
The chief beneficiary in New Zealand was Roberts, who returned to the levels he had reached with the Lions in South Africa and whose return will be deemed a considerable threat to the Irish midfield even after Keith Earls stood down on Friday ? his baby daughter is in hospital ? to be replaced by the more sturdy presence of Fergus McFadden.
The Leinster centre, on only his third Test appearance, has the responsibility of stepping in for Brian O'Driscoll, while two other men with considerable acts to follow are Rhys Gill, who replaces the Welsh world-class tighthead prop Gethin Jenkins, and the 6ft 6in Cardiff wing Alex Cuthbert, who comes in for the 5ft 7in Shane Williams, giving the Wales back line yet more edge, at least when it comes to big ball-carriers if not in skill levels.
Gill is yet another riding the wave of Saracens' success. The prop's only previous Test experience was as a three-minute walk-on role in Dublin two years ago after which he struggled to get a contract with Cardiff Blues and thought about giving up rugby before switching to Watford and an English league title. Cuthbert, two inches taller than George North on the left wing, made his debut as Williams was bowing out with his 58th try for Wales against Australia in December.
Altogether there are six changes from the side that started against Australia and five from the team which produced a remarkable first-half display of defending, before going on to stretch away from Ireland in Wellington. However, Welsh fortunes have waned since then, especially on the injury front, while the Irish have grown stronger when measured by recent performances in the Heineken Cup.
"We have been able to retain continuity in some key areas," said Gatland, adding: "We are two sides who know each other well. Ireland will not have enjoyed losing to us in New Zealand [and] will want to redress the balance in Dublin but they will find us in just as determined mood."
Or, as Roberts put it, without Jenkins, Alun Wyn Jones, Luke Charteris, Matthew Rees and Lloyd Burns, who was on the bench in Wellington, the starting line-up will have to put in a "near-perfect game" for Wales to win their third game on the bounce against the Irish. "Ireland away first game is one of the challenges," said Roberts, "especially as their players have been going well domestically."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/03/wales-rhys-priestland-jamie-roberts
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