While Jamie Roberts’ injury and Gavin Henson’s future have been the talk of Welsh rugby, Tom Shanklin has busy preparing to play in a third World Cup campaign. The Western Mail's Simon Roberts reports.
"Shanklin, Wales’ most-capped centre, appears to have become Wales’ forgotten man ahead of New Zealand 2011.
"Shanks, one of the real warriors of the Welsh game, hasn’t even been mentioned in dispatches and his return has been typically low key.
"While there has been a gnashing of teeth about Roberts’ injury and much head-scratching about Henson’s self-enforced absence, Shanklin has been busy in the gym in a bid to prove himself where it matters – on the field.
"For a double Grand Slam winner and a Lion, it’s been a new experience for Shanks watching Andrew Bishop of the Ospreys and Scarlets rookie Jonathan Davies move centre stage as candidates for the forthcoming autumn Tests.
"The 30-year-old, who won the first of his 66 Wales caps against Japan in Tokyo in 2001, is clearly bemused by his current predicament."
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